Approve Agreement for Technical Service with Professional Development of Achievement, Inc. to Provide Writing Training for Primary Teachers at Shaw Elementary (Student Services and Federal Programs Division)

In order to sustain an increase in writing achievement at Shaw Elementary, primary teachers need to be equipped with best practice instructional strategies and techniques. We are requesting approval of the Agreement for Technical Services with Professional Development of Achievement, Inc. to train all teachers in kindergarten through second grade on effective instructional writing strategies. The dates of the training will be May 9, 2007, through June 30, 2007. The vendor’s trainers will also be coaching and modeling these instructional strategies by teaching students in whole-class and small-group settings.

Goal 4 - The percentage of students achieving a score of 4.0 or higher on FCAT Writing will increase a minimum of 5 percentage points.

Shaw Elementary will use Title I Staff Development funds in the amount of $2,800 to cover the cost of this training. The cumulative contract amount paid to this vendor in Hillsborough County for 2006-07 is $19,500.

Two sets of data will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the training delivered by Professional Development of Achievement, Inc. Teachers will complete a survey at the conclusion of the training in May 2007 to evaluate the effectiveness of the training delivery. At the conclusion of the 2007-08 school year, the staff at Shaw will evaluate the progress of the second grade students on Hillsborough Writes to determine the impact of the new instructional strategies on student performance. The results of this information will be shared with the vendor and will be used to determine future contracts.