Principal Letter

Principal Letter and Instructions For The Web-Based Survey

Dear (Name of Principal):

I am writing to inform you that School Name is one of the 3,800 schools in 1,700 school districts nationwide that have been selected to participate in a study the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is conducting, called Charting the Progress of Education Reform: An Evaluation of the Recovery Act’s Role. We have been in contact with your district superintendent regarding your participation in this important study. If your district has a research approval process, we have received approval to contact you.

The study will assess how states, districts, and schools are working to improve education. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA or The Recovery Act) provided approximately $100 billion in additional education funding, awarded through a variety of programs. ED wants to understand the role that Recovery Act programs have played in reform efforts that districts and schools such as yours have been undertaking. Your contribution to the national picture is essential. ED’s Institute of Education Sciences has contracted with Westat and its partners, Policy Studies Associates (PSA), Chesapeake Research Associates, and the University of Wisconsin, to conduct the study.

For the study, we ask that you complete an annual, web-based survey for 3 years beginning this Spring (and again during Spring 2012 and 2013). In public reports we produce, your school’s survey responses will be summarized with those from other schools; As explained below, all data collected for this study will be kept confidential (per the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002), except as required by law. We hope you will find it useful to compare your own reform activities and challenges to the summary findings for schools across the nation.  

Instructions for accessing the web-based survey are provided in this letter. The survey can be completed at a time of your convenience on our website but should be submitted no later than June 1, 2011. You may go to the website at any time and enter your confidential user login and password to begin the survey. The sections do not have to be completed at one time. You can save your answers and return to complete the survey as many times as you need to.

Your user login and password are listed below and should be used to access the survey:

Survey address: https://www.ARRASurvey.org

User Login: «Username»

Password: «Password»

We look forward to receiving your completed web survey. If you prefer to complete a paper version of the survey, you should email your request to the study team at ARRAStudy@westat.com or call our toll-free number, 1-888-855-1452. Please feel free to contact me directly with questions or issues. Juanita Lucas-McLean, the evaluation’s Data Collection Manager, can also assist. We both can be reached by calling 1-888-855-1452 or by emailing ARRAStudy@westat.com. We know how busy you are and greatly appreciate the time you devote to this effort.

Sincerely,

Babette Gutmann

Charting the Progress of Education Reform

Evaluation Project Director

Enclosure: Charting the Progress of Education Reform Evaluation Brochure

Notice of Confidentiality

Information collected for this study comes under the confidentiality and data protection requirements of the Institute of Education Sciences (The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part E, Section 183).  Information that could identify an individual or institution will be separated from the survey responses submitted, kept in secured locations, and be destroyed as soon as they are no longer required. Survey responses will be used only for research purposes. The reports prepared for the study will summarize findings across individuals and institutions and will not associate responses with a specific district, school, or person. We will not provide information that identifies you or your school to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1850-0877. The approximate time required to complete this data collection is estimated to be 45 minutes. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimates or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC 20202-4651. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20208.