Title I, Part A: Improving Basic Programs

Targeted Assistance schools work with eligible students mainly in the areas of reading and/or math, although Title I assistance can be given in all subject areas.  Eligible students are determined based upon several criteria.  Targeted Assistance schools are either not eligible to run or choose not to operate a schoolwide program.

Title I services are given to students who are failing or who are most at-risk of failing in reading, math, and/or other subject areas.  The services given to these students are in addition to the regular school program. Title I students should receive the same instruction as regular students. Title I services are not meant to supplant regular classroom instruction.  The forms of assistance can be extra instruction, tutoring, supplemental supplies and materials, etc.

Districts and schools must establish criteria for determining which students are eligible for services. Students can fit under one or more of the following descriptors, although students identified as Neglected, Delinquent, and Homeless automatically qualify for services.  A popular myth, however, is that students have to be economically disadvantaged to receive services.  This is not true.  Eligibility is based entirely upon academic need.

• economically disadvantaged children

• at-risk children

• children with disabilities

• migrant children

• English Learners 

• children from head start, early head start

• neglected or delinquent children

• homeless children

Students with Disabilities

• coordinate with and support the regular education program, which may include services to assist preschool children in the transition to elementary school

• provide instruction by effective teachers 

• provide opportunities for professional development with Title IA funds, and to the extent practicable, from other sources, for teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, and other staff who work with participating children in targeted assistance programs or in the regular classroom 

When possible, eligible students should not be removed from the classroom.  Instruction is to be given by the classroom teacher, and then supported by the Title I teacher or paraprofessional.  In the school’s Title I plan, strategies are to be developed to increase parental involvement with their child’s education.  Research shows that when parents get more involved in their child’s educational program, the student can achieve at higher levels.  

• minimize removing children from classroom 

• strategies to increase family engagement 

• coordinate with regular education program 

• may include: 

  • counseling and mentoring 

  • college/career awareness/preparation 

  • prepare students for transition from school to work 

  • school/grade transitions 

Targeted Assistance Instructional Strategies

• enable students to meet standards 

• in-class assistance 

• collaborative teaching among Title IA and regular classroom teachers 

• extended day/year 

• summer school 

• before- and after-school programs 

• preschool program  

• extended kindergarten 

• extended learning time 

• pre-teach, reteach 

Target Assistance Instructional Models

• Title IA teacher/classroom teacher collaborate on lessons 

• team teaching  

• students should get assistance with daily work and missing/lacking skill sets 

• push in 

  • Title IA teacher or paraprofessional works with small groups of children 

  • must be under the direct supervision of and trained by the classroom teacher

If services are unavailable elsewhere Title IA funds may be used to provide: 

• basic medical equipment 

• health, nutrition and social services 

Target Assistance School Personnel

Title I A staff may: 

• assume duties beyond classroom instruction or does not benefit non-Title IA students if duties are the same for similar personnel  

• participate in professional development and planning  

• teach collaboratively if such teamwork directly benefits Title IA students 

Split Funded Personnel 

• must keep time and effort records 

• time spent on Title IA activities 

• names and numbers of students served 

• time spent on allowable non-Title IA activities 

• may be daily, weekly, monthly schedules 

• filed at the school and district office 

Targeted Assistance Records

Record Retention 

• records are confidential 

• keep all records for 3 years plus the current 

• destroy after 4 years 

• split funded staff time and effort records 

• final program report-due in June of each year 

• ranking worksheets 

• rank all students in school using selection criteria for service 

• list of students served 

• students exited and reason for exit 

Student Files

• date services started 

• assessment scores at commencement of services 

• list of services provided 

• exit criteria to include:

• date of exit from program 

• assessment scores at exit 

• record of parent contacts 

  • date compact sent home – if signed and returned - copy of compact 

  • copy of letter describing services 

  • copy of parent refusal of services (if applicable) 

  • copy of progress reports to parents 

Inventory of Title IA Materials and Equipment

• equipment and supply inventories must be kept on all purchases done with Title I monies, including disposal of equipment.
• materials purchased with Title I dollars must be able to be clearly identified as such. 

Resources

A Schoolwide Program is a Title IA funded school that 

• has a poverty rate 40% and above or receives a waiver 

• serves all students regardless of eligibility 

• assists in all core subjects 

• chooses to adopt a planning and implementation process 

• MTSS/curriculum changes 

Process

• letter of intent 

• year-long planning process 

• send in schoolwide plan template for review 

• USED non-regulatory guidance 

• small update in the Integrated Strategic Action Plan (ISAP) 

Benchmark Assessments

After determining the students to be served, benchmark assessments should begin.  It is the responsibility of the Title I staff to determine what skill sets are missing, and then develop a plan to improve those areas of weakness.  Benchmarking should be done at least three times a year.  Once at the beginning of the year, then at the end of the first semester, and then finally at the end of the year.

• after the initial screening, further assessments should take place to determine the achievement level of the student  

• benchmarking-should be at least three times a year 

• benchmarking should be done at grade level 

Progress Monitoring

Progress monitoring, on the other hand, should be done more frequently.  This determination is based upon the status of the student as either intensive or strategic.  The more assistance the student needs, the more frequent the progress monitoring.  

• after the benchmark assessments have been done and instruction has begun, schools should regularly progress monitor Title IA students 

• intensive-weekly 

• strategic-weekly or biweekly 

• progress monitoring should be done at the instructional level 

Exiting Students

Students should be exited from the Title I program as soon as it is appropriate to do so.  Title I is not meant to be a permanent placement.  Students who are exited from Title I will most likely need supports put into place by the regular classroom teacher and Title I staff.  The Title I staff should regularly check in to monitoring progress.  It is sometimes necessary to place a student back into Title I services.

• when students are at grade level for a team determined number of testing cycles, they should be exited 

• classroom supports should be implemented  

• should continue to monitor student progress for a full year after exiting from Title I 

• students may end up back in Title I 

• Title I should not be a permanent placement; it should be fluid, students may come in or out depending on need 

Resources

Title I, Part A Parent & Family Engagement Plan/Policy (Template)

The Title I Plan requires a written Parental Involvement Policy for the district.  The creation of this written Policy needs to include parents.  It needs to contain the following components.  While these components are equally important, it is vital that parents be included in the annual evaluation of the Title I Plan and the Parental Involvement Policy.

• districts shall develop a written policy jointly with, agreed on with, and distributed to parents of participating children 

• districts shall incorporate the written policy into the Title I plan and describe: 

  • district coordination, technical assistance, and support to schools in planning and implementing effective parent al involvement activities 

  • district building capacity for strong family engagement 

  • coordination and integration of family engagement  strategies with other state and federal programs 

  • involvement of parents annually in evaluating the content and effectiveness of the family engagement policy 

  • family engagement in school activities 

Along with the district policy, each school needs to develop a written policy or plan that is similar to the district policy.  While parents do not have the final say in the creation of policy, they are allowed input even if they are not in agreement with it.

• each school served shall develop a plan similar to the district policy to be made available to the local community and to be updated periodically

• schools may amend current plan to reflect these requirements 

• any comment from parents not satisfied with this policy must be submitted with the Title I plan 

Allocation Set-aside

At certain levels of Title I funding, schools are required to set-aside a minimum amount for Parental Involvement activities.  That threshold is $500,000.  It is required that parents be involved in the decisions of how to spend Title I funds for these activities.

• 1% allocation – the district shall set aside one percent of its agency allocation for family engagement if the allocation is above $500,000. 

• parental input – parents shall be involved in the decisions regarding expenditures for family engagement activities. 

School Requirements

Your school plan needs to incorporate the following elements.  Having an annual meeting is one of the requirements.  Parent /Teacher Conferences are in addition to the annual meeting and, you must include parents in annual evaluation and revision of the Parental Involvement Plan.  This means you should be conducting an additional meeting at the end of the year.   Therefore, schools should have at least two meetings.

Each school shall:  

• convene an annual meeting of parents 

• provide flexible meeting schedules 

• involve parents in all issues regarding Title I policies and plans 

• provide parents with: 

• timely information 

• information about curriculum, assessment, and proficiency levels 

• regular parent meetings 

• include parent comments in the plan 

School-Parent Compact

The law requires the creation and implementation of School-Parent Compacts.  The Compact  is used to create a partnership between the school, teachers, and parents to help attain better student achievement.   The Compact is signed by teachers, parents, and the student when appropriate.

• Each school shall jointly develop with parents a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help students achieve the state’s high academic standards. 

• The compact should: 

• describe the school’s responsibility 

• describe the parents’ responsibility 

• describe the student’s responsibility if desired 

• address importance of communication between teachers and parents through: 

  • at least an annual parent-teacher conference in elementary schools that includes discussion about how the compact relates to individual achievement 

  • frequent reports to parents on their children’s progress 

  • reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer, and observe classroom activities 

Building Capacity for Family Engagement

Building capacity for parent and family involvement is the effort that both the school and district provide to allow time, space, information, training and other supporting functions that allow Parental Involvement to grow and become more effective throughout the school year.  If parents need support and/or training to be able to participate in their students’ academic growth, then the term “Building Capacity” may include Literacy Training, as well as training in the use of technology. 

To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school, parents, and community, the school and district: 

• will provide assistance to parents in understanding the state academic content standards, state and local academic assessments, state student academic achievement standards, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve achievement 

• will provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improvement achievement: 

• literacy training 

• using technology 

• will educate all staff with the assistance of parents, in the value of family engagement and: 

  • how to reach out to parents 

  • how to communicate with parents 

  • work with parents as equal partners 

  • implement and coordinate parent programs 

  • build ties between parents and school 

• will, to the extent feasible, coordinate and integrate family engagement programs and activities with other state, federal, and local programs 

• will ensure that information provided to parents is in an understandable format 

• may involve parents in developing staff training

• may provide literacy training from these funds 

• may pay reasonable and necessary expenses of parents 

• may train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents 

• may arrange school meetings at a variety of times to maximize family engagement 

• may adopt and implement model approaches to family engagement 

• may establish a district wide parent advisory council 

• may involve community-based organizations in parent activities 

• will provide such reasonable support requested by parents 

Resources

• try to get away from the term Title I teacher 

• The Intervention Specialist should be the best teacher in the school 

• must have a background in teaching strategies, multiple educational methodologies, and curriculum 

• needs to be able to support not only students, but teachers as well 

The OPI does not have nor does it provide a specific test document for paraprofessionals to meet this requirement.  A district may create their own assessment or use one provided from other sources, such as MEA-MFT.

• The OPI does not require the use of a specific test for the assessment of an instructional paraprofessional’s knowledge and skills.

• This decision is left to the local district to select from available and appropriate tests.

Verification of Compliance

The school must maintain  documentation that assures the qualifications of any teacher and instructional paraprofessional.   It should be made available to the general public upon request.

• Each LEA shall require the principal of each school operating a Title I program to attest annually in writing as to whether such school is following this section. 

• Copies of attestations shall be maintained at each school and shall be available to any member of the general public. 

Duties of Paraprofessionals

• Title I, Part A Required Policy/Plan Components Checklist (Section 1116 ESSA)