Hillsborough County Public Schools Student Services and Federal Programs
Action Item

DATE: Thursday, February 7, 2008
TO: School Board Members
FROM: MaryEllen Elia, Superintendent

SUBJECT / RECOMMENDATIONS

Approve $114,790 payment to the University of South Florida for Services Associated with Their Partnership in Hillsborough County Public Schools Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) grant, Project #S215L070536 (Student Services and Federal Programs Division)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) awarded $9,549,227 to Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) for the District’s SLC grant project, entitled Tomorrow’s Leaders. The purpose of the program is to support activities to improve student academic achievement in large public high schools with enrollments of 1,000 or more students. The awarded amount for year one of the five-year project is $1,872,077. Of this total amount, $114,790 is for project services rendered by the University of South Florida (USF). Faculty and staff from USF College of Education’s Anchin Center, through the Tampa Bay Educational Partnership, a formal partnership between the district and the university, are providing a Documentation Analysis and Technical Assistance (DATA) team which will meet with both the project leadership and the individual schools on at least a quarterly basis to assist both groups in data analysis and interpretation (see attachment for list of schools). The DATA team will communicate regularly with the Internal and External Evaluator and will play a dynamic role in project decision making. This will support school and district personnel in successfully implementing the project. Year One of the project began October 1, 2007, and ends September 30, 2008.

ANNUAL DISTRICT GOAL(S) AND CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S)

GOAL 6 - All schools in the District will be assigned a state grade of A, B, or C (accomplish goals and critical success factors for goals 1-5).

FINANCIAL IMPACT (Budgeted: No)

Funding for this project is provided by U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) grant, Project #S215L070536. HCPS is the grant’s fiscal agent, and project funds reside with the District.

EVALUATION

Under the terms of the grant HCPS is responsible for project evaluation. A copy of the annual reports and final evaluation report will be provided to HCPS Office of Assessment and Accountability. The anticipated date for the annual report for year one is December 30, 2008.

SUBMITTED BY: Lynn R. Fell, Grants and Research Operations Officer

Gwendolyn L. Luney
Assistant Superintendent, Student Services and Federal Programs
(813) 272-4879
Gretchen Saunders
Chief Business Officer
(813) 272-4270
A 5.18
Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida) * Mtg.#20080207_287 * Section A Item# 5.18