Special Education Parent Survey RFP: Questions and Answers #1

Transcription

1 Special Education Parent Survey RFP: Questions and Answers #1 (Any identifying information has been removed and/or reworded). 1. What is the distribution of participants by zip code? Will this only be available after the sample is determined? Please see the list of school districts provided. All parents of students with disabilities in these towns will be surveyed except for a representative sample of parents in the larger school districts (i.e., East Hartford, Fairfield, Meriden, Southington, and Torrington). When the sample is finalized with the vendor, the addresses will be available. 2. Has the mailed survey typically been distributed in both Spanish and English to each household? If no, is there a primary language indicated for each household? Each household receives a copy of the survey in English and in Spanish. 3. Is the format for individual district reports available? Are anonymized samples available? As noted on page 4 of the RFP, individual district reports can be accessed at The reports will follow the same format and levels of analyses. Additional charts may be necessary to explain a report outcome when the CSDE Project Manager reviews the report draft. Additional information (e.g., an anonymized sample) is not necessary at this time to determine the report format or levels of analyses required. 4. Given the specifications, Item II.a., what is additional information for families? Is this a separate enclosure? Who provides this content and printing? On page 4 of the RFP, the Direct Cost items are listed: II. Administration a. Direct costs are expected to include materials, necessary mailing inserts containing survey and additional information for families, printing and processing for original mailing, return mailing envelopes, a mail reminder, and online completion capability in English and Spanish. The family insert content is provided by the CT Parent Advocacy Center; last year s insert is provided for reference. The printing costs should be included in the Direct Costs as noted in II.a. above.

2 5. Is contingent funding provided if the response is greater than 22%? In the General survey information section in page 4 of the RFP, reference is made to estimating costs at both 22% and 100% response rates: I. General survey information: a. 31 districts to be surveyed b. 10,300 surveys to be disseminated (approximation) c. Prepare English and Spanish versions of the survey for print and online completion d. 22% estimated response rate; however, applicants must estimate cost at both 22% and 100% response rates Direct and evaluation costs should be calculated at both the 22% and 100% response rates when submitting an application. Additional funding will be available should the estimated survey response rate exceed 22%. 6. Given the specifications, section III.b., does assist mean anything other than providing recommendations and advice? In pages 4 and 5 of the RFP the Evaluation Implementation section is listed: III. Evaluation Implementation a. Prepare final student sample and construct final mailing database based on CSDE data in collaboration with SERC and CSDE. b. Assist SERC and CSDE with public outreach and awareness, including strategies to increase survey response rate. c. Provide multi-tiered technical assistance for on-line survey completion and fulfill requests for paper surveys. Assistance may include recommending marketing tools and strategies to increase the survey response rate. 7. Is a sample or complete description of the survey mailing available from previous years? A description of the survey mailing is provided in pages 3 and 4 of the Parent Survey Summary Report , including a complete copy of the survey instrument at the end of the report, and is accessible at

3 Survey Distribution In May of 2012, surveys were sent to all parents of students with disabilities in 19 of the 21 districts participating in the seventh year of the survey. Surveys were sent to a sample of parents (according to the sampling design previously discussed) in the two largest participating districts (New Britain and Waterbury). The survey mailing included a letter of instruction (including directions for completing the survey online), the survey questionnaire, an offer of informational materials from the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC) and a business reply envelope. Following the initial mailing of the survey questionnaire, a reminder letter was sent to each parent, encouraging them to return their completed survey or to contact the external evaluator directly if they had lost or needed a new questionnaire. All survey materials were printed and available online in both English and Spanish (see Appendix E for the English version of the survey). The deadline for returning completed surveys was June 22, Steps to Improve Survey Distribution In year seven, changes were made in an effort to increase response rates and reduce mailing costs. The first change was the pilot of an online survey. This year s survey mailing provided parents with a unique identification code for accessing the survey electronically (parents with more than one child receiving special education services received an ID number for each child). Parents who lost their unique ID or encountered technical problems during the survey could call the external evaluator s toll free phone number for assistance. Close to one in five parents completed the survey online (see page 5 for the overall and per district online response rates). A second change, made in conjunction with the new online option, was to replace the more traditional stamped return envelope with a business return envelope so that postage costs would only be incurred on those surveys returned via traditional mail. Other changes included adding the statement important parent information from the CT State Department of Education to the envelope of the initial mailing; sending of follow-up correspondence, developed by the CT Parent Advisory Work Group, to participating districts with specific options to consider for increasing the response rate; and revision of the Spanish survey materials to ensure the content was readily accessible to Spanish-speaking parents, including the availability of CSDE and CPAC representatives who could answer questions in Spanish.

4 CT Special Education Parent Survey Administration 1. Ansonia 2. Avon 3. Bethel 4. Bolton 5. Canterbury 6. Chaplin 7. Cromwell 8. East Haddam 9. East Hartford* 10. Fairfield* 11. Glastonbury 12. Griswold 13. Lisbon 14. Meriden* 15. Middletown 16. New Fairfield 17. Newington 18. North Haven 19. Plainville 20. Region 1: Grades Canaan, Cornwall, Kent, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon 21. Region 6: Grades K-12 Goshen, Morris, Warren 22. Region 12: Grades PK Bridgewater, Roxbury, Washington 23. Region 14: Grades PK Bethlehem, Woodbury 24. Region 17: Grades PK-12 Haddam, Killingworth 25. Salem 26. Southington* 27. Torrington* 28. Wethersfield 29. Willington 30. Wolcott 31. Woodbridge * A representative sample of parents of students with an IEP will be surveyed from these five larger school districts: East Hartford, Fairfield, Meriden, Southington and Torrington. In all other CT Special Education Survey Administration school districts, all parents of students with an IEP will be surveyed.

5 A Special Thank You From Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center Thank you for taking the time to complete this important Parent Survey. We believe that the CT State Department of Education needs to hear from as many families as possible so that they can improve services for all our children with special needs. Your voice can make a difference! Because we know how difficult it can be for families to get all the information they need to help their children learn, we would like to send you some educational resources to support you in advocating for your child. To receive these materials, please return this slip along with your survey to: Glen Martin Associates, 41 State Street, Suite , Albany, NY You may also us at cpac@cpacinc.org to request the materials directly. Look for these resources to arrive this fall. Best Wishes, CT Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC) Please complete the form below: Please select one of the following: English Spanish (If no selection is made, we will send you information in English.) Parent/Guardian Name: Mailing Address: (House/Apt #, Street) (City, CT Zip Code) Phone Number: Address: I would like to have the materials ed to me. Child s Birth Date: Child s Disability: Child s Gender (please circle): Male Female *Child s Ethnicity (please circle): Caucasian Hispanic African American Asian American Native American Other *This information is confidential and optional and helps CPAC determine how well we are reaching diverse families. It is also used in federal grant reports. Thank you for your assistance.

6 Con agradecimiento del Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center Gracias por tomarse el tiempo para completar esta importante Encuesta para Padres. Creemos que el Departamento de Educación del Estado de CT tiene que saber de tantas familias como sea posible para que puedan mejorar los servicios para todos los niños con necesidades especiales. Tu voz puede hacer la diferencia! Porque sabemos lo difícil que puede ser para las familias a obtener toda la información que necesitan para ayudar a sus hijos a aprender, nos gustaría enviarle algunos recursos educativos para apoyarle en defensa de su hijo. Para recibir estos materiales, por favor devuelva esta hoja junto con la encuesta a: Glen Martin Associates, 41 State Street, Suite , Albany, NY También puede enviarnos un correo electrónico a cpac@cpacinc.org para solicitar directamente los materiales. Estos materiales serán disponibles para envió en el otoño. Sinceramente, CT Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC) Por favor complete el siguiente formulario: Favor de seleccionar uno de los siguientes: Inglés Español (Si no selecciona uno le enviaremos la versión en inglés.) Nombre del Padre/Guardian: Dirección Postal: (Casa/# de apartamento, Calle) (Cuidad, CT Código Postal) Número telefónico: Correo electrónico: Me gustaría tener los materiales enviados por correo electrónico a mí. Fecha de nacimiento del niño/a: Discapacidad del niño/a: Género del niño (favor de circular uno): Masculino Femeninio *Grupo étnico/raza (favor de circular uno): Blanco Latino Africano Americano Asiático Americano Indio Americano Otro *Esta información es confidencial y opcional y ayuda a CPAC a determinar si estamos sirviendo a familias de diversos grupos étnicos. También se utiliza para reportar propuestas federales. Gracias nuevamente por su ayuda.