It is with these thoughts in mind that we are proposing the following activities to provide technical assistance and capacity building:

1. Provide workshops for the participating schools and invited guests of The Cleveland Foundation.
2. Develop and distribute to participating schools manuals and reports regarding accountability and the use of evaluation to improve operation and instruction.
3. Provide customized assistance to participating schools by answering school-specific  questions about accountability and evaluation.

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Workshops

Because the community schools are relatively new, we will organize many of the workshops early in the project.  During the 2000/2001 school year, we plan to host four workshops.  The first workshop covered Accountability and Evaluation while the second workshop discussed the Insitutionalization of Evaluation.  We intend to conduct two workshops during each of the following two school years. The workshops in years 2 and 3 will also have optional sessions scheduled just before or after the workshop that will review the topics covered in the year 1 workshops.  These will provide new schools or new persons with a similar base of technical assistance as those schools participating in the year 1 workshops.  Additional workshops will be arranged and conducted during the time period of the study as requested and as justified within the parameters of the project’s budget. 

Participating schools will be asked to suggest topics for the workshops.  Following each workshop, participants will be given the opportunity to evaluate the activity and provide feedback and suggestions for subsequent workshops.  Tentative topics we are considering for the workshops include the following:

1. Developing a school-based accountability plan
2. Assessing students’ needs
3. Defining goals and measurable objectives based on the mission of a school
4. Identifying measures of success and indicators that relate to the measurable objectives
5. Use of student achievement data and other measures of student progress
6. Planning and preparing an annual report and reports to authorizers, sponsors, and parents
7. Highlights and results from the surveys and the ongoing evaluation
8. Institutionalizing evaluation in schools
9. Program and personnel evaluation

While the scope of this project is limited to three years, we intend that the project will have a longer impact because of the example set by participating schools, the preparation and training received by individuals in the participating schools, and the resource materials and documentation resulting from the project.  Specific to the last point, we intend to develop and distribute manuals/handbooks that will serve as resource guides to the participating schools as well as to other community schools/public schools. 

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Handbooks

School evaluation kit

Guide to using evaluation

Guide to institutionalizing evaluation in schools

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Customized Assistance

The third area of technical assistance involves more individualized support for the participating schools.  This would include, among other things, the following forms of individualized support:
 

• Resource persons to answer questions dealing with accountability and evaluation issues.  Questions can be addressed to the project team by phone, mail, e-mail, or during site visits. 
• Reviewing and commenting on draft reports dealing with the school’s accountability plan and related reports to the authorizer, sponsors, state officials, parents, and the public.

Requests for support can come from school directors, board members, or other staff at the participating schools. We hope that the annual report prepared by participating schools will serve as models for other charter schools and traditional public schools.

Through the various technical assistance activities spelled out above, we expect to see comprehensive and sound accountability plans developed in the participating community schools.  This will increase the likelihood that they will make an impact on the surrounding traditional public schools.   We also hope to build ownership in the process and an appreciation and understanding of how evaluation can be used effectively and positively at the school level.

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