Approve the Agreement for Technical Services for the Music Component of the Lift Every Voice for Literacy Grant to be Conducted by Dr. C. Victor Fung (Information and Technology Division)

The Lift Every Voice for Literacy Grant, funded by the Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination Program, consists of two components: increasing the reading achievement of struggling readers while increasing the music proficiency of students, and providing teacher professional development. The grant requires an external evaluation team that consists of reading, music, and research specialists. An Agreement for Technical Services has been developed with C. Victor Fung, Ph.D., University of South Florida, for the music component of the evaluation. Dr. Fung's major is in Music Education and his minor in Ethnomusicology and conducting. Dr. Fung is a member of the faculty of the University of South Florida's School of Music, College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Services will include administering assessment of students' proficiency in accurately singing melodic/rhythmic patterns/songs and collecting data; revision as necessary of the training syllabus for all music strategy professional development; survey of satisfaction of training; conducting classroom observations; survey of student reflections; teacher questionnaire; conducting interviews with participants; collecting/organizing participant reflections (oral and/or written), logs of lessons, video recording of model lessons; conducting survey of student reflection on musical ability; and completion of a Final Performance Report. The provider will follow Evaluation Standards established by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation adopted by the American Evaluation Association (AEA).

Approximately 250 students will be involved at seven elementary schools. These schools include: Bing Elementary, B.T. Washington Elementary, Chiaramonte Elementary, Foster Elementary, Lockhart Elementary, Palm River Elementary, and Witter Elementary.

* Motivate students to become responsible learners, * Challenge and support all students with an appropriate curriculum

This grant is funded in the amount of $990,519 over a four-year period with $241,336 funded for the 2009/2010 fiscal year (corresponds to Year 4 of the grant period). The provider will be paid $18,000. A 50% payment of the contract will be made in May 2010, and the remaining 50% of the contract will be paid after the completion and district acceptance of a Final Performance Report.

The provider will present a Year 4 final evaluation to the Department of Assessment and Accountability. The Year 1, 2, and 3 evaluation reports are available upon request from the Department of Assessment and Accountability.