Charting My Path for Future Success Project
District Cost Interview Protocol
March 2024
Thank you for participating in the Charting My Path for Future Success study. My name is [insert name] and I am part of the study team from the American Institutes for Research, or AIR.
We are conducting interviews with each participating district to learn about the work your district did to prepare for implementing SDLMI-Transition and SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring, and what resources and support your district is providing to support the implementation of each program. In this interview, we will focus on activities led by or conducted by the district office staff. We will use this information to help document the costs and challenges of implementing each program. We anticipate the interview will take approximately 60 minutes.
As you may recall, at the beginning of the project our study team had asked you to maintain notes and records of the time and resources that you spend on activities related to implementing this project. We estimated that maintaining these records would take approximately 3 hours of time throughout the year. For this interview, please draw on your notes that you have been keeping throughout the year to address the questions we will ask you during this conversation. If you don’t know the answer to a question, please just say so, and we’ll figure out who is in a position to answer the question. It’s important that you answer only the questions to which you know the answer.
Before we ask you to participate, we want you to know that participation in this interview is voluntary. All your responses will be kept private and will only be used for research purposes in this study and related research. Personally identifiable information about individual respondents will not be reported. Information collected for this study falls under the confidentiality and data protection requirements of the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education. The study team will not provide information that identifies you, schools in your district, or your district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.
Do you agree to participate in this interview?
Respondent agrees to participate in the interview.
Respondent does not agree to participate in the interview.
If respondent agrees to participate, say: I’d like to record the rest of this call, as a backup for my notes. You can ask me to stop recording at any time. Do I have your permission to record the interview?
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Privacy Act Statement & Notice of Confidentiality. The purpose of this project is to assess whether two transition support programs help students prepare for and attain their goals beyond high school. The U.S Department of Education is authorized to conduct this project under Section 664 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 20 U.S.C. 1464). 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). Per the policies and procedures required by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part E, Section 183, responses to this data collection will be used only for statistical purposes. The reports prepared for this study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific program, district or individual. Any willful disclosure of such information for non-statistical purposes, except as required by law, is a class E felony.
Paperwork Burden Statement: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1850-0979. The time required to complete this collection of information is estimated to average 4 hours per response, including the time to maintain cost records throughout the year, review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate, suggestions for improving this form, or comments/concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, please write to: Institute of Education Sciences, NCEE, 550 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20202.
First, please provide some information about yourself. Can you please state your name and current role for the recording?
District Name |
Auto populated |
District ID |
Auto populated |
First Name |
[Enter information] |
Last Name |
[Enter information] |
Job Title/Role |
[Enter information] |
A1. For how many years have you been in your current role? __________ years
Note to districts: We are requesting your support in collecting information about the time and resources that schools in your district may spend on activities related to implementing SDLMI-Transition and SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring. Please ask your schools to maintain records on the following information throughout the school year, and coordinate with your schools to collate their records on the following information prior to our interview.
Note to schools: We would like to record the time spent by your school staff to prepare for and support the implementation of SDLMI-Transition and SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring in your school. When filling out information in these tables, please think about – (1) meetings and activities in your school specifically for this project; (2) staff roles of individuals who were involved in these meetings or activities; and (3) time spent by these staff on each meeting or activity. Please do not include time spent by staff on your regular school activities like student IEP meetings, or time spent on meeting with program instructors (we will collect this information directly from instructors).
For Spring 2025 interview: Please fill out information on activities starting from Summer 2024 up to this time, after the district and school finalized their participation in this study.
For Spring 2026 interview: Please fill out information on activities starting from Summer 2025 up to this time.
B1. Time spent on internal meetings (within school) to discuss the program’s implementation (including scheduling, readiness work, and ongoing support for implementation):
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Who participated from [school name] in the meeting? (list job title, not name) |
How long was the meeting? (hours) |
Which aspects of the programs did this meeting focus on? |
1st meeting |
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Small-group SDLMI-Transition sessions Family engagement sessions 1:1 mentoring sessions Other More than one aspect [indicate the approximate percentage spent on each aspect of the programs] |
2nd meeting |
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Small-group SDLMI-Transition sessions Family engagement sessions 1:1 mentoring sessions Other More than one aspect [indicate the approximate percentage spent on each aspect of the programs] |
….. |
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B2. Time spent on any other activities not captured in the meetings above:
i. Activity |
ii. Who worked on this activity from [district name] (list job title, not name)? |
iii. Approximately how much time did each person spend on this activity? |
iv. Which aspects of the programs did this activity focus on? |
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Small-group SDLMI-Transition sessions Family engagement sessions 1:1 mentoring sessions Other More than one aspect [indicate the approximate percentage spent on each aspect of the programs] |
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We will start by asking about activities conducted during the summer and fall of 2024, after your district knew it would be participating in the study. Let’s first discuss the work your district engaged in to identify the program instructors at the beginning of the project.
C1. We’d like to know how you selected the program instructors for SDLMI-Transition and SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring. Based on our records, we believe that at the start of the project in Summer 2024, you [already knew who each instructor would be / knew who the instructor(s) would be for SDLMI-Transition, but needed to search for instructors for SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring / knew who the instructor(s) would be for SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring, but needed to search for instructors for SDLMI-Transition / needed to search for instructors for both programs.]
Can you please confirm if this information is correct?
District already knew who each instructor would be. à Skip to Section D.
District knew who the instructor(s) would be for SDLMI-Transition, but not for SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring.
District knew who the instructor(s) would be for SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring, but not for SDLMI-Transition.
District needed to search for instructors for both SDLMI-Transition and SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring.
C2. Based on our records, staff from your district’s central office had [enter number] meetings with the study team to discuss the hiring process (for example, to learn about instructor qualifications, schedule meetings with the instructor candidates). Does that sound correct?
Yes à Skip to C2.b
No à Enter the correct number of meetings in C2.a.
C2.a. [Enter the number of meetings after confirming with the interviewee.] ________________ Meetings
C2.b. For each meeting, we’d
like to confirm with you our records of approximately how long the
meeting lasted, and who from your district participated in the
meeting, using the records we shared with you prior to this
interview. We understand that these meetings occurred many months
ago, so please answer to the best of your ability.
[Probe:
For meetings that focused on both SDLMI-Transition and
SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring, ask districts whether the meeting
mostly focused on one program, or focused on both programs almost
equally.]
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How long was the meeting (hours) |
Who participated from [district name] in the meeting (Iist job title, not name)? |
Who participated from outside the district? [Note job title and role. If district is unsure of job title of study team staff, add names] |
Which program instructor did this meeting focus on? |
1st meeting |
[prepopulated] |
[prepopulated] |
[prepopulated] |
SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring Both |
2nd meeting |
[prepopulated] |
[prepopulated] |
[prepopulated] |
SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring Both |
….. |
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C3. Outside of meetings with the study team, did staff from your district’s central office meet to plan the hiring process? Please include internal meetings with only district staff as well as other meetings that included others outside of the district.
Yes
No à Skip to C4.
C3. a. Approximately how many meetings without the study team did you have related to the hiring process?
________________ Meetings
C3.b. For each meeting, we’d
like to know approximately how long the meeting lasted, and who from
your district participated in the meeting. We understand that these
meetings occurred many months ago, so please answer to the best of
your ability.
[Probe: For meetings that
focused on both SDLMI-Transition and SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring,
ask districts whether the meeting mostly focused on one program, or
focused on both programs almost equally.]
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How long was the meeting? (hours) |
Who participated from [district name] in the meeting? (list job title, not name) |
Who participated from outside the district? |
Which program instructor did this meeting focus on? |
1st meeting |
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SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring Both |
2nd meeting |
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SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring Both |
….. |
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C4. Beyond meetings, did staff from the district office conduct activities related to preparing for the hiring process, such as preparing for meetings or drafting and posting the job opportunity(s)?
Yes
No à Skip to C5.
C4.a. Could you say what each
activity was, who worked on it, roughly how much time each person
spent on this activity, and which program the activity focused on for
each activity?
[Probe: For activities
that focused on both SDLMI-Transition and SDLMI-Transition with
Mentoring, ask districts whether the activity mostly focused on one
program, or focused on both programs almost equally.]
i. Activity |
ii. Who worked on this activity from [district name] (list job title, not name)? |
iii. Approximately how much time did each person spend on this activity? |
iv. Which program did the activity focus on? |
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SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring Both |
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C5. Did someone from your district screen the applications (by reviewing resumes and selecting candidates for interviews), or did you hire another group to do the screening?
Someone in our district screened the applications. à Skip to C5.b.
We hired an outside group.
C5.a. How much did it cost for the outside group to screen the applications?
USD ______________ à Skip to C6.
C5.b. Who in your district screened
the applications, and approximately how much time was spent on this
work?
[Probe: For time spent on both
SDLMI-Transition and SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring, ask districts
whether the screening time was mostly spent on one program, or on
both programs almost equally.]
Which district staff screened the applications (list job title for each staff member, not name)? |
Approximately how much time did each person spend on this activity? |
Which program did this person screen applications for? |
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SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition
with Mentoring |
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SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition
with Mentoring |
C6. [Based on responses to C1, if the district searched for candidates for one or both programs, ask] How many candidates did your district interview for each program?
Program |
Number of candidates |
SDLMI-Transition only |
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SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring only |
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SDLMI-Transition OR SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring |
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C7. For each candidate your district
interviewed, who interviewed the candidate, and how long did each
interview last, on average?
[Probe: For time spent on both
SDLMI-Transition and SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring, ask districts
whether the interviewing time was mostly spent on one program, or
focused on both programs almost equally.]
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Who
interviewed the candidates |
Approximately how long did each interview last, on average? |
Which program did this candidate interview for? |
1 |
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SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition
with Mentoring |
2 |
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SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition
with Mentoring |
… |
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C8. Were there any other meetings among district staff, including those who interviewed candidates and others, to discuss which candidates to make an offer to?
Yes
No à Skip to C9.
C8.a. Approximately how many meetings took place?
________________ Meetings
C8.b. For each meeting, approximately
how long did the meeting last, and who from your district
participated in the meeting? We understand that these meetings
occurred many months ago, so please answer to the best of your
ability.
[Probe: For meetings that
focused on both SDLMI-Transition and SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring,
ask districts whether the meeting mostly focused on one program, or
focused on both programs almost equally.]
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How long was the meeting (hours) |
Who participated from [district name] in the meeting (list job title, not name)? |
Which program instructor did the meeting focus on? |
1st meeting |
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SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition
with Mentoring |
2nd meeting |
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SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition
with Mentoring |
… |
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C9. Did the instructor selection or hiring process involve any work by district staff that we did not cover in our questions so far?
Yes
No à Skip to C10.
C9.a. For any additional work
involved, could you say what each activity was, who worked on it
(i.e., position), roughly how much time each person spent on this
activity, and which provider/approach the activity focused on? For
each activity mentioned…
[Probe:
For activities that focused on both SDLMI-Transition and
SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring, ask districts whether the activity
mostly focused on one program, or focused on both programs almost
equally.]
Activity |
Who worked on this activity from [district name] (list job title, not name)? |
Approximately how much time did each person spend on this activity? |
Which program did the activity focus on? |
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SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring Both |
… |
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C10. Did your district need to purchase any equipment to support the hiring or selection process? [Probes: computers, videoconferencing software]
Yes
No à Skip to C11.
C.10.a. What equipment did your district purchase? For each type or piece of equipment mentioned…
i. Purchased equipment |
ii. When did your district purchase the equipment? (month and year) |
iii. How much did the equipment cost? |
iv. Which program was this equipment used for? |
v. Was this equipment used for purposes other than the hiring or selection process? |
vi. During the hiring or selection period, how many hours during a typical week was this equipment being used for the hiring or selection process? How long did the hiring or selection period last? |
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SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring Both |
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… |
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C11. Were any other resources used by your district for the hiring or selection process? [Probes: In-kind donations, transportation costs, incentives, consultants]
Yes
No à Skip to Section C.
C11.a. Please say what the resource was, when your district purchased it, and how much it cost. For each resource mentioned…
Resource |
i. When did your district purchase this? |
ii. How much did this cost? |
iii. Which program was this resource used for? |
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SDLMI-Transition SDLMI-Transition
with Mentoring |
… |
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We would now like to ask you about any activities that your district staff participated in when preparing to implement SDLMI-Transition or SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring in your schools. We will ask about time and resources spent on orientation, trainings, and meetings with school staff to schedule program implementation. Please only consider activities starting from [Summer] 2024 up to this time, and after the district confirmed they would participate in this study.
D1. Think first about the time districts spent on implementation preparation activities in Summer and Fall of 2024. Did district staff have meetings with school leadership in project schools to discuss the program’s timeline, implementation, and/or schedule for trainings and readiness activities?
Yes
No à Skip to D2.
D1.a. How many meetings did you have?
________________ Meetings
D1.b. For each meeting, approximately
how long did the meeting last, and who participated in the meeting?
We understand that these meetings occurred many months ago, so please
answer to the best of your ability.
[Probe:
For meetings that focused on both SDLMI-Transition and
SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring, ask districts whether the meeting
mostly focused on one program, or focused on both programs almost
equally.]
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Who participated from [district name] in the meeting (list job title, not name)? |
Which school staff participated in the meeting (list job title, not name)? |
How long was the meeting? |
Which aspect(s) of the programs did this meeting focus on? |
1st Meeting |
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Small-group SDLMI-Transition sessions Family engagement sessions 1:1 mentoring sessions Other More than one aspect [indicate the approximate percentage spent on each aspect of the programs] |
2nd Meeting |
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Small-group SDLMI-Transition sessions Family engagement sessions 1:1 mentoring sessions Other More than one aspect [indicate the approximate percentage spent on each aspect of the programs] |
… |
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D2. Did district staff undertake any additional activities to help schools prepare for the trainings and readiness activities? Please think about any activities conducted by districts, other than the trainings, orientations, and site readiness visits that involved the study team. [Probes: scheduling and confirming staff participation by sending emails, visiting schools to discuss implementation timing and space, meeting with school leadership, reviewing implementation plans]
Yes
No à Skip to D3.
D2.a. Could you say what each
activity was, who worked on it, roughly how much time each person
spent on this activity, and which program the activity focused on?
For each activity mentioned…
[Probe:
For activities that focused on both SDLMI-Transition and
SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring, ask districts whether the activity
mostly focused on one program, or focused on both programs almost
equally.]
Activity |
Who from [district name] worked on this activity (list job title, not name)? |
Approximately how much time did each person spend on this activity? |
Which aspect(s) of the programs did this activity focus on? |
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Small-group SDLMI-Transition sessions Family engagement sessions 1:1 mentoring sessions Other More than one aspect [indicate the approximate percentage spent on each aspect of the programs] |
… |
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D3. Did your district purchase any equipment that staff at the central office used to support preparation activities for implementing SDLMI-Transition or SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring in schools? [Probes: computers, videoconferencing software]
Yes
No à Skip to D4.
D3.a. What equipment did your district purchase? For each type or piece of equipment mentioned…
i. Purchased equipment |
ii. When did your district purchase the equipment? |
iii. How much did the equipment cost? |
iv. Which aspect(s) of the programs is this equipment used for? |
v. Is this equipment used for purposes other than the preparation activities? |
vi. In a typical week during preparation for implementation in Summer and Fall 2024, about how many hours was this equipment being used for preparation activities? |
vii. Was this same equipment first purchased or used for activities related to hiring or selecting instructors? (yes/no) |
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Small-group SDLMI-Transition sessions Family engagement sessions 1:1 mentoring sessions Other More than one aspect [indicate the approximate percentage spent on each aspect of the programs] |
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… |
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D4. Did your district use any other resources for the training and readiness activities? [Probes: In-kind donations, transportation costs, incentives, consultants]
Yes
No à Skip to Section E.
D4.a. Please say what the resource was, when your district purchased it, and how much it cost. For each resource mentioned…
Resource |
i. When did your district purchase this resource? |
ii. How much did this resource cost? |
iii. Which aspect(s) of the programs was this resource used for? |
iv. Was this same resource first used for activities related to hiring or selecting instructors? (yes/no) |
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Small-group SDLMI-Transition sessions Family engagement sessions 1:1 mentoring sessions Other More than one aspect [indicate the approximate percentage spent on each aspect of the programs] |
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… |
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We will now focus on activities led by the central district office, as well as any supports that the central office provided to the schools during program implementation [during Spring 2025 / from Summer 2025 to this point]. We would like you to reflect upon activities and resources and include any support, monitoring, or resources that you or your district provided to schools during the implementation of SDLMI-Transition or SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring.
E1. [In Spring 2025 / From Summer 2025 to this point], did you or others in your district meet with program instructors or school staff to discuss the implementation of SDLMI-Transition or SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring? Please only consider meetings that specifically focused on program delivery (such as check-in meetings with instructors or meetings with school staff to discuss implementation) and not meetings focused on activities to support the program evaluation (such as data collection or parent consent processes).
Yes
No à Skip to E2.
E1.a. What type of meetings did you
have? [Probes: check-in meetings with instructors, meetings with
school administrators to discuss the program(s), meetings with other
school staff to discuss implementation.] For each meeting type,
can you also describe how often the meetings occurred and who from
your district participated? We understand that these meetings
occurred a few months ago, so please answer to the best of your
ability.
[Probe: For meetings that
focused on both SDLMI-Transition and SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring,
ask districts whether the meeting mostly focused on one program, or
focused on both programs almost equally.]
Meeting type (what was the primary focus?) |
Approximately how often did these meetings occur? |
For a typical meeting, who from [district name] would participate (list job title, not name)? |
Approximately how long did each meeting last, on average? |
Which aspect(s) of the programs did this meeting focus on? |
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Small-group SDLMI-Transition sessions Family engagement sessions 1:1 mentoring sessions Other More than one aspect [indicate the approximate percentage spent on each aspect of the programs] |
… |
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E2. Did district staff undertake any additional activities to monitor or support the implementation of SDLMI-Transition or SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring (for example, organizing check-ins with schools, making outreach calls, troubleshooting implementation challenges)?
Yes
No à Skip to E3.
E2.a. Could you say what each
activity was, who worked on it, roughly how much time each person
spent on this activity, and which program the activity focused
on?
[Probe: For activities that focused
on both SDLMI-Transition and SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring, ask
districts whether the activity mostly focused on one program, or
focused on both programs almost equally.]
Activity |
Who from [district name] worked on this activity (list job title, not name)? |
Approximately how much time did each person spend on this activity? |
Which aspect(s) of the programs did this activity focus on? |
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Small-group SDLMI-Transition sessions Family engagement sessions 1:1 mentoring sessions Other More than one aspect [indicate the approximate percentage spent on each aspect of the programs] |
… |
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E3. Did your district purchase any equipment that staff at the central office used to support the implementation of SDLMI-Transition or SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring in schools [Probes: computers, videoconferencing software]?
Yes
No à Skip to E4.
E3.a. What equipment did your district purchase? For each type or piece of equipment mentioned…
i. Purchased equipment |
ii. When did your district purchase the equipment? |
iii. How much did the equipment cost? |
iv. Which aspect(s) of the programs is this equipment used for? |
v. Is this equipment used for purposes other than support for program implementation? |
vi. How much time during a typical week was this equipment being used for support for program implementation? |
vii. Was this same equipment first purchased or used for other program activities like hiring instructors or preparing for implementation? (yes/no) |
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Small-group SDLMI-Transition sessions Family engagement sessions 1:1 mentoring sessions Other More than one aspect [indicate the approximate percentage spent on each aspect of the programs] |
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… |
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E4. Did your district use any other resources to support implementation of SDLMI-Transition or SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring? [Probes: In-kind donations, transportation costs, incentives, consultants, translators]
Yes
No à End of interview.
E4.a. Can you please tell us what the resource was, when your district purchased it, and how much it cost? For each resource mentioned…
Resource |
i. When did your district purchase this? |
ii. How much did this cost? |
iii. Which aspect(s) of the program was this resource used for? |
iv. Was this same resource first used for activities related to hiring or selecting instructors or preparing for implementation? (yes/no) |
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Small-group SDLMI-Transition sessions Family engagement sessions 1:1 mentoring sessions Other More than one aspect [indicate the approximate percentage spent on each aspect of the programs] |
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… |
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For each district and school personnel identified during the interview as having participated in meetings or activities related to hiring or selecting instructors, preparing for implementation, and supporting the implementation of SDLMI-Transition or SDLMI-Transition with Mentoring, please provide salary information and a description of the staff role. You may share these records in any format that is convenient to you.
Staff role |
Salary information |
Description of staff role |
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… |
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| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 0000-00-00 |