Title I Part A

Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged

Title I is a federally funded grant program, part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. ESEA was reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Title I, Part A provides supplemental funding for resources to help schools with high concentrations of students from low-income families provide a high-quality education that will enable all children to meet the state’s student performance standards. Title I, Part A supports schools in implementing either a schoolwide program or a targeted assistance program. These programs must use effective methods and instructional strategies that are grounded in scientifically based research.

The program is designed to accomplish four primary goals:

• provide supplementary education to students eligible for services;
• provide additional funding to schools and districts serving high concentrations of children from low-income families;
• focus educators on the needs of special student populations; and
• improve the academic achievement of eligible students, reduce performance gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students, and assist eligible students in meeting high academic standards.

Schoolwide Program

For a school to qualify as a Title I Schoolwide program, the campus must have a student population of at least 40% or more that are economically disadvantaged (i.e. students who qualify for free or reduced meals).

Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD currently has 32 schools that are served as Title I Schoolwide Campuses.

Each of these schools is given an allocation of Title I Part A funds through a specified formula.   The school must spend those funds on strategies that will directly impact student instruction (such as academic interventions, instructional programs, supplemental teachers, etc.), professional development trainings for teachers, and Parent and Family Engagement activities.

All activities and/or resources paid with Title I, Part A funds must be:

• identified in the Comprehensive Needs Assessments, and
• included in the Campus Improvement Plan, and
• reasonable, necessary, allocable, and allowable, and
• meet all EDGAR requirements, and
• all district policies and procedures must be followed.

Parents’ Right to Know

Notification to Parents of Teacher/Paraprofessional Qualifications:

In accordance with Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)/ PARENTS’ RIGHT-TO-KNOW, this is a notification to every parent of a student in a Title I school that you have the right to request and receive in a timely manner:

1. a) information regarding the professional qualifications of your student’s classroom teachers and/or paraprofessionals.

The information regarding the professional qualifications of your student’s classroom teachers/paraprofessional shall include the following:

1. If the teacher has met state certification/qualification criteria for the grade level and subject areas taught:
2. If the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state certification/qualification criteria are waived;
3. The teacher is assigned in the field of discipline of the certification;
4. Whether the student is provided services by paraprofessionals, and if so, their qualifications [ESSA 1112(e)(1)(A)(i)-(ii)]

In addition to the above information you will be notified if your student has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who does not meet the applicable state certification requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned. [ESSA 1112(e)(1)(B)(ii)]

Teachers may meet this requirement if the district is implementing its approved District Innovation teacher certification policy or if the teacher meets the State Certification assignment rules.

If you would like to receive any additional information about any of the above issues, please contact your child’s campus principal.

Student Achievement

Each Title I, Part A campus provides, to each individual parent, information on the level of achievement of the parent’s child in each of the required state academic assessments.

Parent and Family Engagement

The Parent and Family Engagement provisions in Title I, Part A reflect the four principles in ESEA/ESSA. Specifically, these provisions stress a shared partnership between schools and families for high academic achievement, including (a) supplemental educational services for eligible children in low-performing schools, (b) local development of Parent and Family Engagement plans with sufficient flexibility to address local needs, and (c) building parent and family capacity for using effective practices to improve their child’s academic achievement.

The Title I Parent and Family Engagement Program focuses on three categories:

1. Parent and Family Information (informing parents of their rights under ESSA, as well as details of the Title I program)
2. Parent and Family Engagement in Campus Decision Making: this is typically met by parents being members of the Site-Based Decision Making (CIC) committee, as well as parents being part of the committee that revised the campus Parent and Family Engagement Policy and School-Parent Compact
3. Parent and Family Trainings: Campus Title I Parent and Family Engagement allocations also will be expended on providing academic trainings to parents in order to help their children succeed academically

Important requirements include:

The district must develop a District-Wide Parent and Family Engagement Plan (developed jointly with parents):

1. Each Title I Schoolwide campus must develop a campus-level Parent and Family Engagement Plan (developed jointly with parents)
2. Each campus must hold an annual Title I Meeting for Parents to inform parents of the school’s participation in the Title I, Part A program, and to explain the Title I, Part A requirements and the rights of parents to be involved in those programs.
3. Each Title I, Part A school must jointly develop, with the parents of children served under Title I, Part A, a School-Parent Compact as a component of its written Parent and Family Engagement Policy

Links:
US Department of Education – Every Student Succeeds Act

Texas Education Agency – Every Student Succeeds Act

Title I Statewide Parent and Family Engagement Statewide Initiative (Region 16 ESC)