An Evaluation of the Emergency School Aid Act Nonprofit Organization Program

A capsule statement of the major findings resulting from a two-year study of the Emergency School Aid Act nonprofit organization (NPO) program designed to identify factors related to NPO effectiveness and to make recommendations for improving the program. The study recommends (1) targeting NPO funds to districts actively involved in the desegregation process; (2) eliminating Resource Management and Evaluation as components of the Quality Criteria; (3) developing additional Quality Criteria based on factors related to impact; (4) eliminating compensatory and tutorial educational services and encouraging desegregation-related educational services; (5) promoting desegregation-related community relations, monitoring, and advocacy activities; (6) restructuring the NPO Advisory Committee; (7) eliminating the 15-day local education agency (LEA) review of NPO proposals and LEA letters of comment; (8) promoting mutual LEA-NPO cooperation through a joint Needs Assessment procedure; (9) restructuring proposal review panels to equalize community-LEA impact; and (10) creating an NPO administrative structure less vulnerable to LEA influence.