During September, SEDL research and evaluation staff continued to work with ALSDE staff to develop a program map for implementing the Instructional Partners project.

SEDL research and evaluation staff completed a thorough data analysis with input from ALSDE. A list of lessons learned was developed and will be incorporated into planning for the coming year. Work has begun to develop a program map by the end of September, as ALSDE moves forward with implementing the project.

SEDL research and evaluation staff continued to assist ALSDE with mapping out the big picture for the Instructional Support Project through data analysis. This will allow the team to continue to work on telling the "story" for the first year of implementation and to begin to effectively plan the scope of the evaluation for Year 2. Some near-term goals include: (1) developing a brief of lessons learned from year one that could be shared, and (2) re-mapping the program to have a more detailed evaluation plan for Year 2.

In June, SECC research and evaluation staff worked with four staff members from ALSDE to conduct data analysis of the teacher surveys. They also discussed next steps for analyzing the instructional partners and principals' survey, guiding the redevelopment of the program as well as the evaluation plan, and completing the logic model. In addition, SECC staff presented the preliminary findings from the teacher surveys at the Instructional Partners Retreat that was conducted by the Alabama Best Practices Center.

SECC evaluation staff continued to provide technical assistance with developing surveys for teachers, instructional partners, and principals, which included the protocol for the administration of the surveys. The surveys were finalized, and Alabama State Department of Education staff inserted the survey into SurveyMonkey for distribution. Subsequently, the surveys were administered, and SECC evaluation staff are following-up on response rates and additional invitations for the survey, if necessary. Data collection will be completed before the end of the month, and SECC evaluation staff will provide assistance with analyzing the data.

SECC evaluation staff facilitated and provided technical assistance at a two-day work session with ALSDE staff for the instructional partners program. The result of the work session was the development of surveys that will be administered to instructional partners, their principals, and teachers of schools with instructional partners. SECC evaluation staff also built upon prior SECC technical assistance work by utilizing previously developed components of what an instructional partner should do to prioritize survey areas. Next steps consisted of SECC evaluation staff working with ALSDE staff to draft questions for each area. Following the two-day work session, SECC and ALSDE staff developed and shared drafts of the work. The work was finalized in late April. ALSDE staff are currently building the survey in the Survey Monkey software for administration in early May.

In March, the instructional partners continued to participate in professional learning experiences. SECC evaluation staff also continued to communicate with the design team in order to prepare for a work session to develop the instructional partners and principals' survey in April.

In February, instructional partners were immersed in a one-day professional learning experience conducted by the Alabama Best Practices Center. SECC evaluation staff worked with the design team to prioritize core activities and indicators of the project for evaluation of first-year implementation.

In January 2012, SECC staff attended and participated in the Alabama Instructional Partners Winter Retreat. This two-day professional development for instructional partners featured professional learning experiences, such as instructional rounds, small-group discussions, and reflective learning tasks.