DESIGNING THE DELIVERY MODEL FOR A REFORM PRIORITY Presented by Marguerite Roza and Suzanne Simburg Georgetown Fiscal Analytics Unit

Background Where you are: You decided to implement a new program, and you’ve thought about the goals/impact you hope to achieve through its implementation (or are thinking about it). Today Think through possible strategies and experiment with a tool to project the costs of different ways to seek the desired outcome. Compare costs, financial sustainability, and expected reach for different options to determine the best path forward to design and deliver this reform priority

Identifying the context Are there other priorities being pursued simultaneously that might compete with this priority (or be harnessed in a productive way?) (Examples: PD efforts, new curricula, hiring priorities, etc.) Are there dedicated funding sources available for the priority? How far into the future will those sources be dedicated? How are they being used now? To what extent is the priority being advanced already, and if so how and by whom? Is there a comparable effort that might be replaced by the current priority? Does addressing the current priority eliminate the need for something else (e.g. elimination of some remedial programs, etc.) What are the major barriers to adoption? (Examples: are teachers already feeling pressures from other directions, like time available or other new things they’re learning?)

Built-in cost escalators outpace revenues

# Adults Total Comp What will happen to staff in coming years? Number of education staff per 1000 students peaked in 2008

What strategy will you use? What might it look like when the priority is being advanced fully? New delivery units: Will the priority be advanced to students directly through new dedicated instructional units? (Teaching new segments, new courses, students participate in new activities, etc.) Change culture, work differently: Can the priority be advanced by having some or all staff work differently (e.g. teaching differently, integrating the program with academic instruction, using new materials, etc.) Integrate the program with academic instruction? E.g. Students continue to learn skills but on different topics → different implications for the resources they use

What are your options? Will the effort be piloted? Do you need dedicated staff or can the priority be advanced with existing staff? Different staff? How much training is needed? By whom? How often? Can training happen before being hired? Can training be delivered online? Over the summer? Can training be optional? What materials are needed? Does the priority require new curriculum? What needs to be measured? Other?

Initiating the new program Combine with existing class, program, staff –Can the cost of the pre-existing program/staff include the new program? For example: infusing your program curriculum into an existing or new civics class? Add dedicated staff or extra curriculars –What additional initial and ongoing costs will this create? Partner with another new service –Are you considering implementing another program at the same time? What parts of this program overlap with the new service? How can they work together? (Example, weave into a series of DARE presentations) Replace existing program –What existing program resources can be used for the new program?

Identifying Costs 1. Break down the costs of different pieces (examples: per staff person, per workshop, per content item) 2. Look at other programs, are some doing it for less? How? Can we learn from them? 3. What labor-saving techniques can we employ? (examples: webinars, videos, online content, optional certification with preference given in hiring) 4. Can incentives be created so staff acquire skills outside their work time (e.g. bonus for optional summer certification, hiring preference for certified staff, etc.)

Sustainability? Risks? Reach? What are the yearly costs? Will it survive a budget cut? Dedicated staff are vulnerable to cuts When an effort replaces something else the districts does, it may have more staying power, as eliminating it might require restarting the old effort. What happens if PD priorities change over time? Does the program deteriorate when new staff are no longer being trained? Reach?