To:

Members, Board of Education

From:

Maurice O. Green, Superintendent
John Morris, Chief Student Services Officer

Date:

October 24, 2008

RE:

Approval of Middle School Character Education Contract

In July 2006, the United States Department of Education/Partnerships in Character Education Programs (PCEP) awarded nearly $1.5 million to Guilford County Schools and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in a four year grant to study the impact of character education on the social, ethical and academic achievement of middle school students.  Dr. Philip Vincent, Character Education consultant and author is the director for the project.  Six Guilford county middle schools were randomly selected by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the four year study.  The schools are Ferndale Middle, Jamestown Middle, Kernodle Middle, Northeast Middle, Northwest Middle and Welborn Middle.  This is the third year of the grant.

The 2008-09 contract for renewal reflects the budget for contractual services rendered by the Project Director of the grant, Dr. Philip Vincent of the Character Development Group which were components of the Department of Education grant.  This amount reflects a 2 percent increase since the start of the grant.  The 2008-09 contractual services budget is:

• Project Director- $58,476
• Local Travel- $1,000
• National Travel- $1,000
• Supplies and Materials- $5,000
• Character Education Consultants- $10,000
• Website Design- $5,000
• Evaluation and Research Budget- $45,000
• Focus Group Specialist/Evaluation Consultant- $5,000
• Statistical Management Research Assistant- $25,000
• Co-Evaluator Travel- $6,000
• Experimental/Control Group Data Collection Team Travel- $5,799
• Supplies & Office Costs for Evaluation-$10,000.

TOTAL:  $177,275

As a part of the contract, the contractual agreement between Dr. Philip Vincent, Character Develop Group and Guilford County Schools states that the responsibilities and duties of the project director as outlined in the grant.

RECOMMENDATION:  The administration recommends that the board approve the contract with Dr. Philip Vincent of the Character Development Group to continue services as Project Director of the Middle School Character Education Grant for the second year for a total amount of $177,275.

Attachment - 2008-09 Outline, Agreement and 2007-08 Outline