February 1, 2001

Dear Superintendent:

I am a doctoral student in Educational Administration and Supervision at the University of Virginia. As part of my dissertation, I am studying the issue of teacher shortages in Virginia. Specifically, I am collecting data on three subtopics:

1) the current supply of qualified teachers in identified shortage areas,

2) the perceived efficacy of and recommendations to improve state-level strategies to address teacher shortages, and

3) innovative strategies being planned or implemented at the local level to address teacher shortages.

My data collection strategies include a survey and a random stratified sample of follow-up telephone interviews. A copy of the survey instrument is enclosed. The Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS) supports this research, the results of which will be made available to all respondents, the Virginia General Assembly, and the Virginia Department of Education.

I would greatly appreciate a response from your school division; each response adds to the weight of the results. This survey is to be completed by the individual with the primary responsibility for hiring teaching staff. I am asking for the help of each superintendent to ensure that this survey gets into the hands of the appropriate individual in order to maximize the return rate, and the value, of the survey results.

Each survey is coded so that I will be able to conduct follow-up data collection. All data will be confidential, and no individual or school division will be identified. Results will be dissaggregated by self-reported metropolitan status (urban, suburban, or rural), K-12 enrollment, and fiscal capacity as determined by the local composite index.

The survey instrument will require about 15 minutes to complete, depending on how much information is provided on the three open-ended prompts. It would be helpful if I received this information on or by Friday, February 16, 2001. The respondent can mail or fax this information to me. My fax number is below, and a stamped addressed envelope is enclosed.

Stephen C. Smith FAX: (804) 846-0723

1023 Morey Place

Lynchburg, VA 24502-2746

Thank you for supporting this effort. I look forward to receiving information from your school division. Please call me at (804) 522-3700, ext. 134 or email me at smithsc@admin.lynchburg.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Stephen C. Smith

To the Individual with Primary Responsibility for Hiring Teachers:

Please read the introductory letter address to the superintendent. It provides information regarding the purpose of this survey. In field tests this survey took about 15 minutes to complete, depending on the amount of information that was provided for the open-ended questions.

The information collected in this survey is in three sections:

1) three demographic questions,

2) perceptions of the existing supply of teachers in identified shortage areas,

3) perceptions of the efficacy of state-level strategies to address shortages of qualified teachers and suggestions for state-level legislators and policy makers regarding changes to these strategies, and

4) innovative strategies local school divisions are planning or are currently implementing in order to address teacher shortages.

The information from this survey will be confidential. Neither your name, nor the name of your school division will be reported. The results will be dissaggregated by the demographic information requested in section I. Thank you for taking the time to supply valuable data for my study. Each response I receive adds to the weight of the survey results. Please return your responses by Friday, February 16, 2001. You may fax them to me at (804) 846-0723 or mail them back in the enclosed stamped envelope.

Please follow the instructions for each section of this instrument.