Hillsborough County Public Schools Information and Technology
Action Item

DATE: Tuesday, March 4, 2008
TO: School Board Members
FROM: MaryEllen Elia, Superintendent

SUBJECT / RECOMMENDATIONS

Approve the Evaluation Contract for a Component of the Lift Every Voice for Literacy Grant to be Conducted by Dr. C. Victor Fung in the Amount of $13,000 (Information and Technology Division)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Lift Every Voice Grant is funded by the Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination Program and consists of two components: to increase the reading achievement of struggling readers while increasing the music proficiency of students, and to provide teacher professional development. The grant requires an evaluation team that consists of reading, music, and research specialists. An agreement for technical services has been developed with Dr. C. Victor Fung as the music specialist for the evaluation team. Dr. Fung's major is in Music Education and his minor in Ethnomusicology and Conducting. Dr. Fung is a member of the faculty at the University of South Florida's School of Music, College of Visual and Performing Arts. Dr. Fung is not registered with the Office of Supplier Diversity.

The duties of the evaluator for this second year evaluation will include, but not be limited to, administering assessment of students' proficiency in accurately singing melodic/rhythmic patterns/songs and collecting data; revising, as necessary, the training syllabus for all music strategy professional development; administer a teacher questionnaire/survey to determine the satisfaction of training; conducting classroom observations; conducting interviews with participants; collecting and organizing participant reflections (oral and/or written); collecting logs of lessons; video recording model lessons; and conducting a survey of student reflections on musical abilities.

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

Goal 5. The District will eliminate the FCAT achievement gap by a minimum of ten percentage points as reported by No Child Left Behind. Critical Success Factors include: Design and implement program scheduling to meet the remediation and enrichment needs of students and Provide staff development programs that match instructional delivery strategies with diverse student achievement needs.

FINANCIAL IMPACT (Budgeted: Yes)

The total grant budgeted is $982,519. The year two evaluation budget is $24,500. The amount for the music specialist component of the evaluation is $13,000.

EVALUATION

The provider will present a year two evaluation report to the Department of Assessment and Accountability. The year one evaluation report is available upon request from the Department of Assessment and Accountability.

SUBMITTED BY: John A. Hilderbrand, Director, Assessment and Accountability

Jack E. Davis
Chief Information and Technology Officer
(813) 272-4600
Gretchen Saunders
Chief Business Officer
(813) 272-4270
A 5.07
Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida) * Mtg.#20080304_289 * Section A Item# 5.07