Form 0920-24BJ Interview Guide Priority LEA

CDC-RFA-DP-23-0002 Form Approved
OMB No. 0920-xxxx
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

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2302 Healthy Schools Evaluation

Priority LEA Interview Guide

Introduction (5 min)

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. My name is ______ and I will facilitate today’s discussion. My colleague ______ is also joining us to listen and take notes.

Your school district receives support from [state recipient organization] through funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to promote equity and improve health, academic achievement, and well-being of students through a cooperative agreement known as the 2302 Healthy Schools Program, or ”2302”. CDC engaged ICF to evaluate 2302 to better understand how funding, professional development, technical assistance, and resources from CDC and funded recipients have contributed to implementation of project strategies and activities by states, districts, and schools.

The purpose of this interview is to learn how your school district and the schools in your district are impacted by the support provided by [state recipient organization] through the 2302 Healthy Schools Program. The results of the evaluation will be used to demonstrate the impacts of the 2302 program and improve CDC’s support to states, districts, and schools.

This interview will take about 60 minutes. Participation in this interview is voluntary. You may choose to stop the interview at any time, and you may choose not to respond to any question without penalty of any kind. The information we collect from you and other interviews will be summarized and reported to CDC anonymously. Your name and organization will not be associated with your responses in any reports or publications and will be reported in aggregate. Participation in the interview will cause no risk to you or your organization.

If you have questions about this evaluation, please contact the evaluation team at 2302evaluation@icf.com. For questions regarding your rights related to this evaluation, you can contact ICF’s Institutional Review Board at irb@icf.com.

Do you consent to participate in the interview?

Do you agree to be recorded?

Before we begin the discussion, do you have any questions for me?

Okay, let’s get started. Feel free to reference the interview guide provided in the meeting appointment for today.

I will start the recording now. [Start recording and transcript]

[Notes to interviewer: adapt questions as needed if more than one person is participating in the interview; follow cues to adapt instructions and questions for year 2 and year 4 of the program.]

Background (5 min)

1. What is your role within your school district?

2. What is your role implementing 2302 strategies and activities in your district?

Now, let’s turn to questions about your 2302 activities. We will talk about your school health council and teams, professional development and technical assistance activities, school health assessments and school health action plans, and support received from [name recipient organization]. We’ll also ask you for any lessons or recommendations you have regarding these activities.

[Year 2] As you respond to these questions, please consider your observations, experiences, and work performed since the beginning of the 2023 program, or during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years.

[Year 4] As you respond to these questions, please consider your observations, experiences, and work performed since the last interview in 2025, or during the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years.

School Health Councils and Teams (10 min)

School Health Councils and Teams are groups that collaborate to improve school health programs and environments. School Health Councils generally work at the district level and School Health Teams generally work at the school level, but they can also have other names such as wellness teams and advisory councils.

3. What strategies or activities did your district use to help establish and/or maintain school health councils and/or teams in your district over the past two years?

   1. Probe: these can be at the district and/or school level.

4. What changes were observed among school health councils and teams in your district over the past two years?

   1. Probe: change in number of teams, representation, levels of participant engagement, communication frequency, tracking of accomplishments, etc.

5. What were the barriers and/or challenges to establishing and maintaining school health councils and/or teams over the past two years?

6. What opportunities or factors facilitated the establishment and maintenance of school health councils and teams over the past two years?

School Health Assessments (8 min)

School health assessments are the systematic collection, review, and analysis of information about school health policies and programs for the purpose of enhancing student health and educational outcomes. Some examples of school health assessments are CDC’s School Health Index, Wellness Policy in Action Tool, and Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool.

7. How did your district support and encourage schools to complete school health assessments over the past two years?

8. What were the barriers or challenges in supporting schools to complete school health assessments in the past two years?

9. What opportunities or factors facilitated support for and/or completion of school health assessments over the past two years?

10. What changes were observed in the completion of school health assessments among schools in your district over the past two years?

    1. Probes: number of schools completing assessments; timing, frequency, types of assessments; use of results; communication across schools.

School Health Action Plans (10 min)

A school health action plan is a strategic framework designed to promote and enhance the health and well-being of students within an educational setting. These plans typically involve a coordinated effort among various stakeholders, including school administrators, teachers, parents, students, and community members. A school health action plan may be informed by the results of school health assessments.

11. How did your district support and encourage schools to create and implement school health action plans over the past two years?

12. What were the barriers or challenges in supporting schools to develop and/or implement school health action plans over the past two years?

13. What opportunities or factors facilitated development and/or implementation of school health action plans over the past two years?

14. What changes were observed in the completion of school health action plans by schools in your district over the past two years?

    1. Probes: number of schools with plans; timing, and frequency of updates to plans; methods of tracking implementation and progress; communication across schools.

15. What meaningful changes and/or improvements in school health policies and environments were achieved in your district and/or schools over the past two years?

1. Probes: e.g., changes in local school wellness policies, nutrition services and environment, physical activity/physical education environment, and/or support for students with chronic conditions, improved nutrition and physical activity opportunities during out-of-school time.

Health Equity (5 min)

16. How has your district increased the reach of programs and interventions to students and families most adversely affected by inadequate physical activity, nutrition, and management of chronic health conditions, or other disparities?

    1. How has support provided by [name recipient organization] helped you in reaching those most adversely affected?

17. What needs or barriers does your district and schools have related to reaching families (either during the school day and out of school time) that are most adversely affected by inadequate physical activity, nutrition, management of chronic health conditions, and other disparities?

Support from [Recipient Organization] (5 min)

18. What support from [name recipient organization] has been the most helpful in assisting with implementation of 2302 program strategies?

    1. What has been least helpful?

19. What other support does your district need from [name recipient organization] and/or the CDC to fully implement school health strategies and activities?

Closing (5 min)

20. [Year 4] What plans are you putting in place to sustain the school health activities and positive changes achieved through the 2302 program?

21. What other activities, successes, or lessons would you like to share that have not already been discussed?

22. What recommendations would you offer to other school districts in your state based on your experience working to promote healthier environments in schools?

Those are all of my questions. Thank you so much for your time today.

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