Dear Penquis Valley Schools Families,

Your student is invited to participate in a research project called "Youth Aspirations and Labor Market Perceptions in Communities in Transition" being conducted by Dr. Jessica Leahy and Dr. Mindy Crandall from the School of Forest Resources at the University of Maine. Participation means completing an online survey on their iPad or laptop during school. The survey will take about 20 minutes. The purpose of the research is to better understand youth views of their community, ways of life, local economies, and prospects for the future. We will ask questions about students’ goals for future education, employment and residency, what kinds of skills and career development activities youth identify as needed, and about student use of the outdoors. We hope to gather information that will help Penquis Valley Schools, the Appalachian Mountain Club, and others better meet the needs of students. The project is approved by Mr. B and has been shared with all the teachers. The project has support from the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at UMaine.

This letter contains information about what this project means for you and your student. The information in this letter is also available in other ways. Please call Professor Jessica Leahy at 207-581-2834 if you wish to review the letter over the phone.

What will my student be asked to do?
If your student decides to participate in this study, he/she will complete a 20-minute online survey during a multi-purpose period sometime in spring 2016.

Here are some sample survey questions:
1. How important do you think the following forms of economic development are for your
community’s future?
- Tourism and recreation: Not important, Somewhat Important, Very Important
- Forest-based industry: Not important, Somewhat Important, Very Important
- Wind energy: Not important, Somewhat Important, Very Important
- Wood biomass energy: Not important, Somewhat Important, Very Important

2. Do you plan to leave this community for a period of time when you are an adult?
I do not plan to leave
I plan to leave and return as soon as possible
I plan to leave and return someday
I plan to leave and never return

Risks
Except for your student’s time, we see no risks to your student from participating in this study. Your
student may skip any question that they want or leave the survey at any time.

Benefits
While this study will have no direct benefit to you or your student, this research will help us learn more
about how youth see potential future jobs and opportunities. We hope this information will help schools,
communities, and all of us who want to help rural youth in Piscataquis or northern Somerset County get
jobs and live where they want to live.

Confidentiality
Your student will not provide their name and a random number will be assigned as a survey ID number, so your student's responses will be anonymous. Survey answers will be combined for all students and will not be connected to your student’s name. We will report only a summary of results and your student’s individual responses will never be shared with others. The data will only be used for this project and will be stored on a password-protected computer located in the investigator’s office. Data will be kept indefinitely, to allow for comparisons over time of survey results, but deleted from the online survey software program (Qualtrics) as soon as data analysis is complete (within a year).

Voluntary
Participation is voluntary. You and your student may change your mind and leave the study at any time. Not participating in this study or stopping participation during the project will not affect your student's grades, standing in school, treatment by teachers or principals, treatment by researchers from the University of Maine or any other services he or she gets from school in any way. Teachers and other school staff other than the Principal and IT computer specialist won't know if your student decides to participate or not. Your student can skip any question they do not wish to answer.

Contact Information
If you have any questions about this study, please contact us:
Dr. Jessica Leahy
jessica.leahy@maine.edu 
207-581-2834

Dr. Crandall
mindy.crandall@maine.edu
207-581-2855

If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact Gayle Jones, Assistant to the University of Maine’s Protection of Human Subjects Review Board, at 581-1498 (or e-mail gayle.jones@umit.maine.edu).

Participation is your and your student’s choice. If you AGREE for your student be in this study, please enter the student's full name to indicate your agreement. Your submission below indicates that you have read the above information and agree for your student to participate.

Sincerely,
Jessica Leahy, Ph.D.
Mindy Crandall, Ph.D.