Administrators' interview

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR INTERVIEW

Ebenezer Akinola
507 Raintree St. E
Lehigh Acres, FL 33974

August 3, 2012

Dear Study Participant:

I am a student at University of Phoenix working towards a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership with concentration in Curriculum and Instruction. I am conducting a research study entitled ‘Effect of After-School Programs on the Academic Achievement Gap between Caucasian and African American students.’ The purpose of the study is to explore the use of after-school programs by African American students and how this influences the achievement gap problem. I have permission to conduct this study in your schools Oasis High and Oasis Middle, Cape Coral, Florida.

The After-school Program Questionnaire (APQ) will be the framework to measure how much the use of after-school programs affects the achievement gap problem. Students respond to this data collection instrument. The After-school Program Effect Survey (APES) explores the effect of these programs on the academic achievement gap problem in question. Teachers respond to this data collection instrument. School principals will be interviewed to obtain the current levels of the achievement gap problem. The objective is to explore why the achievement gap persists and what measures are currently in place to reduce the gap.

For the APES instrument (for teachers), participation will involve answering five demographic questions, a 27-item after-school program related questions exploring the level of participation of students, especially African American students, and a personal reflection on the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 and its effects on the achievement gap. Completion of the APES instrument will take approximately 45 minutes of your time. Responding to the APQ (for students) will take about 15 minutes. Participation is voluntary and confidential. There is no penalty to withdraw.

All data will be summarized and no individual responses will be identified for reporting purposes. If you have any questions concerning the research study or your rights as a participant in the research project, you can contact me at (239) 634-6528. Thank you in advance for participating in this research study. Please download and sign the informed consent document.

Sincerely,

Ebenezer Akinola
Doctoral Candidate of Educational Leadership
University of Phoenix

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Question: The academic achievement gap between Caucasian and African students seems to be a persistent problem in the field of education. What is your personal and professional view of the problem, and what measures do you have in place in your school to reduce the achievement gap?

Question: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 specifically targets the academic achievement gap problem using various measures. How successful have these measures been in your opinion, especially as it affects your school?

Question: After-school programs are an important tool in K-12 education. Do you have after-school programs in your school? If yes, please give some details about the program. If not, why do you not have any such programs?

Question: Standardized tests are the main method of measuring student progress under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. How is your school doing in terms of academic progress, and how are these tests aiding in your quest to reduce the academic achievement gap in your school?

Question: Studies show that African American students lag behind their Caucasian counterparts in standardized tests and in academic achievement. How are the African American students in your school fairing in the light of this known fact? What effort do you observe African American students putting into the effort to narrow the achievement gap?

Question: How would you rate the success of after-school programs in general, in your school, and student participation in these programs? Do you believe that after-school programs contribute to the effort to narrow the achievement gap?

Responses from school leaders is not subject to reliability and validity testing in this case because the responses are taken as the report of progress made in the schools to reduce the achievement gap problem. School names are not used in the study; instead they are replaced by codes. High schools are coded A & B, middle schools C & D. Furthermore, responses are strictly opinions of school leaders, not anything of statistical significance. The only items from these schools that may be subject to validity and reliability are the standardized FCAT test results of students in mathematics and reading from 2009-2011.