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Action Item
DATE: Tuesday, January 18, 2011
TO: School Board Members
FROM: MaryEllen Elia, Superintendent
SUBJECT / RECOMMENDATIONS
Approve the Agreement for Technical Services for Dr. Mariann Schmudde for the External Evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund Program Performance Outcomes With Effective Rewards II (POWER II) Project (Information and Technology Division)  Revision to Fact Sheet attachment
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Highly effective teachers and administrators can earn a bonus of up to 5% of a beginning teacher's salary through the Performance Outcomes With Effective Rewards II (POWER II) Program.  This bonus is in addition to bonuses from other programs for which they qualify funded by the state and the Hillsborough County Public Schools.  Through this program, these teachers and administrators will also participate in prescriptive staff development that is directly linked to individual evaluation results. POWER II includes enhanced recruitment and retention and a multi-audience communication plan.  Year 1 of the POWER II program will be utilized as a planning year to field test new evaluation instruments, define the effectiveness calculation score for each level, and to design and implement the value-added measure.  The Classroom Teachers Association (CTA) for the Hillsborough County Public Schools has been involved in the development of the project and supports its implementation.  CTA also functions as a state and national leader in discussions concerning performance-based compensation systems.

One of the components of the project is a requirement for an external evaluator of the first year of the project.  Dr. Mariann Schmudde has been asked to be the year 1 evaluator.  Dr. Schmudde has a Ph.D. and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction and a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education.  She is an instructor at Stetson University in the Educational Leadership Program.  Dr. Schmudde has successfully performed several project evaluations for the Hillsborough County Public Schools.  Dr. Schmudde has served as an evaluator on Federal TIF grants for other counties.

Duties of the evaluator will include, but not be limited to, conducting surveys and focus groups to fulfill grant requirements as outlined above. She will collect and analyze data on project benchmarks.  She will provide formative updates on project progress in a comprehensive report due by the designated dates provided by the Grantor.  The evaluator will follow evaluation standards established by the Joint Committee on Standards for Education Evaluation adopted by the American Evaluation Association.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
• Recruit, develop, and retain a highly effective, diverse workforce
FINANCIAL IMPACT (Budgeted:  Yes)
Of the $3,818,170 grant funds, $35,000 has been allotted for the external evaluation of the first year progress.
EVALUATION
Formative updates on project progress will be provided throughout the duration of the project.  In addition, results for the first year evaluation will be disseminated to the grantor and the Department of Assessment and Accountability.
SUBMITTED BY:  Samuel R. Whitten, Assistant Director, Assessment and Accountability
David J. Steele, Ph.D.   Gretchen Saunders
Chief Information and Technology Officer and Project Director, Empowering Effective Teachers Grant
(813) 272-4600
  Chief Business Officer
(813) 272-4270
    A 5.16R
Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida) * Mtg.#20110118_451 (Board Meeting) * Section A Item# 5.16R