Yukon-Koyuk School District's

Operational Handbook for the Voluntary Public School Choice (VPSC) Grant

VII. Evaluation Plan

The Project Director and Project Administrator will work with the Evaluator to design a comprehensive and thorough data-collection system for project evaluation. The evaluation plan will focus on data collection to determine how well the project is meeting each of its objectives. In order to assess the impact of this project, the evaluation will be designed to be both summative (capturing the lessons learned) and formative (to guide the project throughout its implementation) in nature.

A significant part of building a local team project will be the means by which the team members will gather both internal and external feedback on the project. Informal and ongoing feedback will happen in the course of daily operations and regular board meetings. The educational staff will be required to meet twice monthly to discuss issues of concern and ways to improve the program. Feedback from parents and family members will be gathered both formally and informally during school and community events and during parent meetings. Surveys of protective factors will be used to gather information on which assets the students possess and which assets they continue to lack. These surveys will be used to develop the specific activities, training events, and workshops for each year of the project.

The Evaluator, in concert with project staff, will develop evaluation instruments, implement the evaluation plan, analyze and report information on a regular basis to the district and to the federal government. The following types of data will be collected:

a. Evaluation Data

Evaluation of the program will be ongoing with initial reviews for necessary program adjustment scheduled monthly in Year 1. Baseline data will be collected using student and family surveys, online data collection for developmental and resiliency asset assessment and tracking, academic achievement baseline data, and online standards-tracking software will be implemented. Using the data collected, the evaluation will address at least annually, the program progress in meeting the program’s goals and the effects of the program on participants. Specifically, the evaluation will address:

  • the extent to which the program promotes educational equity and excellence;
  • the characteristics of student participants;
  • the effects of the program on the academic achievement of participating students, with a specific focus on students who transfer from low-performing schools to higher-performing schools;
  • at-risk and dropout student recovery data; and,
  • continued need for a program, in addition to its design, implementation, and efficiency

Student Participation Data will be collected and will specifically include: number of students in district, and the number of students currently attending boarding, charter or other schools outside of YKSD. Data will also be gathered regarding student and family intent — where would they go if they could? Follow-up data would show how many participants transferred to a different school, which schools lost enrollment, and which schools gained through school choice options. Dropout recovery will also be tracked to identify which students returned because school choice allowed them to attend schools that better met their needs. Finally, student satisfaction and achievement information will be collected for quality control and to establish direction as the program continues.

Student Achievement and Resiliency Data: The Project Director and the Project Administrator will maintain a monthly summary of services report, documenting each of the project activities and the effects these activities are having on student achievement — both in the school of choice and in the school they left. This data will be coordinated through a web-based database system. Any reports on this data will be compiled utilizing the web-based system and will be viewable online. All project staff will be required to input data into the system on a monthly basis; the data will be incorporated into interim and final reports.

Professional Development Data: Documentation of all training and individualized training plans will be submitted to the project evaluator to determine whether the professional development program is having its desired results. The Project Administrator will collect information from bi-monthly collaborative meetings and assess staff understanding of School Success Cycle. Any areas of difficulty will be addressed through continued professional development activity.

All evaluation data will be summarized and presented to the Project Director regularly by the evaluator in order that project implementation may be adjusted accordingly. The outside evaluator will work closely with the Project Director and will be responsible for providing all annual evaluation reports to the federal government as required.

The following chart outlines the way each objective will be evaluated, the instrument used, and the criteria we will use to determine whether we are successfully meeting our goals. As in all projects of this magnitude, we expect that progress toward our objectives will be incremental, and that it will take time to meet all of our criteria. During the grant's three-year span, we expect to make significant progress toward these criteria.

b. Performance Indicators

Student performance indicators will be specifically tracked for:

  • The number of students who have the option of attending participating Voluntary Public School Choice (VPSC) schools selected by their parents;
  • The percentage of students participating at VPSC sites, who exercise school choice by changing schools; and,
  • The percentage of participating students whose achievement rises in Mathematics and Reading

c. Evaluation Plan
Outcomes Evaluation Instruments Criteria for Success
Objective 1. Provide Intra and Inter District School of Choice Options to increase accessibility to educational services

1a. Increase in in-district schools which meet "school of choice" designation from four of ten schools to seven of ten schools by 2012. A total increase in capacity of 30%

1b. 10% total increase in students exercising choice by 2012, growing 2% annually throughout the life of the grant — Baseline percentage gathered in Year 1

1c. 90% of students/parents aware of all choice options available to them by 2012

Results of students participation data

Total number of choice schools available to YKSD students, results of student participation data

Inter and Intradistrict agreements 10% increase in students exercising choice

10% increase in students exercising choice

All students/parents aware of all choice options available to them, based on parent surveys

Agreements across all district schools, and agreements including other districts within geographic region
Objective 2. Implement the research based instructional strategies within the YKSD School Success Plan to enhance quality educational service and increase student achievement

2a. 80% of all YKSD students will receive a high school diploma by 2012

2b. 0% of negative growth in all three areas of student achievement by 2012

2c. 80% of all YKSD students are proficient in Language Arts by 2012

2d. 0% negative growth in drop out rates by 2012

2e. 80% of all YKSD students are proficient in Math by 2012

2f. 10% increase, annually, of students who report measurable and meaningful improvements in their developmental ecology, through developmental surveys

Annual Full Diploma Graduation Rates

Individual Learning Plans, Bi-weekly collaborative meetings

State-Mandated Student Assessments

Dropout Rates

State-Mandated Student Assessments

Surveys and observations

80% of students will receive high school diplomas

0% negative growth in all three areas of student achievement

80% students are proficient in Language Arts

0% negative growth

80% of students are proficient in Math

100% of students who have all protective factors and assets

Focus on Data

Data Type Person(s) Responsible Timeline Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5
Objective 1. Provide Intra and Inter District School of Choice Options to increase accessibility to educational services.
Intradistrict Choice Agreements Carl Knudsen Completed Year 2 Completed Completed      
Interdistrict Choice Agreements Carl Knudsen Throughout Life of Grant Continuing Continuing      
High-performing and restructured schools in the district Meghan McCarthy-Grant April Annually Completed Completed      
Number of seats available for choice Meghan McCarthy-Grant April Annually Completed Completed      
Total number of students participating in school choice Shawn Coyle April Annually Completed Completed      
Total number of transferring students who participated in school choice Shawn Coyle April Annually Completed Complete      
Total number of students at VPSC sites Shawn Coyle April Annually Completed Complete      
Total number of families participating in school choice Shawn Coyle April Annually Completed Completed      
Awareness of choice options for students and parents Site Administrators and Evaluator April Annually Completed Completed      
Objective 2. Implement the research based instructional strategies within the YKSD School Success Plan to enhance quality educational services and increase student achievement.
Student Connectivity Survey Derek Peterson Three Times Annually Completed Completed      
Professional Development Survey Meghan McCarthy-Grant Fall & Spring Annually Completed Completed      
Coaching & Progression to Goals Report (includes coaching progression & implementation of PEAK strategies) PEAK Fall & Spring Annually Completed Completed      
Site Visit Implementation Results Meghan McCarthy-Grant — Site Administrators Fall & Spring Annually Completed Completed      
State Corrective Action Report Kerry Boyd Annually Completed Completed      
Integrative Youth Development Implementation Report Derek Peterson Annually Completed Completed      
Total number of students taking Reading & Writing State Assessments Andrea Berg will send information to Evaluator October Annually Completed        
Total number of students taking Math Assessments Andrea Berg will send information to Evaluator October Annually Completed        
Total number of students proficient in Reading, Writing & Math Assessments Andrea Berg will send information to Evaluator October Annually Completed        
Total number of district dropouts Andrea Berg will send information to Evaluator October Annually Completed        
Total number of graduates Andrea Berg will send information to Evaluator October Annually Completed        
Technology Usage Report WW IDEA April Annually N/A N/A      

Budget Reports will be completed in the following way:

  • Monthly Burn Rate Reports — Business Office
  • Quarterly Draw Down — Business Office
  • Annual Audit Reports — Business Office — October Annually
  • Itemized Budget Description reports — Business Office — April Annually
  • Year end expense Report — Business Office — April Annually

Focus on Change, Measuring Change, Evaluation

Objective Timeline for Analysis Timeline for Planning Person(s) Responsible
Objective #1 Data Collections Data collection April annually — Analysis concluded by August of following year Data-based decisions made during August grant meeting Kerry Boyd
Objective #2 Data Collections Data collection is completed April and October Annually — Analysis conducted in August & January Data-based decisions made during August & January monthly grant meetings Kerry Boyd