Research


Scope and Content Note

This series contains project files, reports, and correspondence concerning projects funded by the State's Urban Education Program. The project files contains all or some of the following documents: proposal and/or implementation grant application giving a description of the project, its objectives, and budget; proposal evaluation sheets completed by reviewers from Education Department units (usually the Division of Educational Finance and program offices appropriate to the content of the project) giving reasons for approval or disapproval; proposed evaluation plan for project; proposal evaluation review sheet completed by the Bureau of Urban and Community Programs Evaluation, reviewing and approving or disapproving the evaluation plan; a one page summary of the proposal's strengths and weaknesses, and naming proposal reviewers; the approval letter; project modification request for budget or program alterations;

interim evaluation report or "mailed interim information report" summarizing progress to date; and final evaluation report prepared by the local board of education or a consultant giving a summary of the project, its objectives, target population, activities, progress achieved, and staffing. Many reports prepared by consultants evaluate all or several projects in a school district. These reports are filed at the end of the series.

Submission of a district plan by a school district was required before departmental consideration of project proposals. These district plans give background and demographic information relating to urban poverty and present five year plans for the use of State and Federal funds to alleviate educational disadvantages related to poverty. Some project files include district plans; others are filed immediately before the project files; and still others are in separate files identified on the container list. Final evaluation reports not filed with project files are at the end of the series, arranged chronologically by school year and thereafter loosely by New York City school district number or city name.

Correspondence and information files pertaining to each district are filed immediately before the project files for that district. The correspondence relates to transmittal of forms and reports, funding allocations, and general administration of urban educational programs. Preceding the 1970/71 project files are evaluation designs for different categories of projects (e.g.: guidance programs, music and art, narcotics programs, etc.) prepared by a consulting firm. These reports present suggested processes for evaluation projects falling into various categories. Project folders for Experimental Elementary Program projects (fiscal years 1970/71 and 1971/72) and summary expenditure reports for the fiscal year 1970/71 are filed at the end of the 1970/71 project folders.