Title I Annual Orientation2013-2014

Federal Support

for

Polk School District

Polk School District

2013-2014

Title I Overview• The goal for our program tonight is to provide information to you about Polk

School District’s Title I Program.

• Our school is a Title I School because we receive funds from the federal

government to provide additional resources to assist with the education of our

at-risk children.

• We qualify for these additional funds because a large percentage of our

students are directly certified to receive free or reduced meals at our school.

• This year all of the students in Polk School District will eat free breakfast and

lunch. There is no need for parents to complete a lunch application.

Title I Overview

• The goal of our Title I Program is to ensure every child is able to learn and perform at levels that meet or exceed the state academic standards.

• The Title I federal funds we receive help to achieve this goal.

• These additional resources allow us to provide enhanced instructional programs for our most at-risk students and the opportunity for our parents to be involved in their children’s education.

• To continue receiving these funds, there are guidelines we must follow to comply with requirements mandated by the U.S. Department of Education.

Georgia’s New Accountability

• An application, requesting flexibility through waivers of ten Elementary

and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) requirements and their

associated, regulatory, administrative and reporting requirements, was

submitted to the U.S. Department of Education (USED) by the Georgia

Department of Education (GaDOE).

• On February 9, 2012, Georgia’s Elementary and Secondary Education

Act of 1965 (ESEA) Flexibility Waiver was approved by the US ED.

Georgia’s New Accountability

• Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the Georgia

Department of Education will use preset formulas to determine

which schools (state-wide) are in need of the most support to

improve the academic performance of students.

• Schools in most need of improvement will be categorized as:

Alert

Focus

Priority

New Categories for Schools

Alert Schools: None in Polk School District

• Both Title I and Non-Title I Schools

• Identified annually

• Categorized as Graduation Alert, Subgroup Alert, o Subject Alert

Focus Schools: Northside Elementary and Cedartown High School

• Identified every three (3) years

• Ten percent (10%) of Title I schools with:

graduation rate of less than 60% over past two years;

the largest within-school gaps between subgroups (highest achieving versus

lowest achieving); or

the largest within-school (high school) gaps in graduation rates.

Georgia’s New Accountability

Priority Schools: None in Polk School District

• Identified every three (3) years

• Five percent (5%) of Title I Schools:

The lowest performing Title I Schools in Georgia, based upon student

achievement (all students group) on statewide assessments

Schools that have demonstrated a lack of progress on statewide assessments,

over a number of years (all students group)

Title I participating or Title I eligible high schools with a graduation rate of less

than sixty percent (60%) over a number of years

Tier 1 or Tier II schools under the School Improvement Grant (SIG) Program,

currently using SIG funds to implement interventions

Title I Planning

• Our School-wide Plan (SWP) is called the Local School Plan for

Improvement (LSPI), which addresses the areas in which we want to

improve, so that all of our students will be successful.

• Our SWP Plan includes:• a needs assessment,

• a detailed description of the academic programs and activities available to improve

student achievement;

• our school plan for working with our parents to become partners in their children’s

education; and

• the Title I Budget, federal funds that the school receives to assist in accomplishing the

goals outlined in the School-wide Plan.

Title I Planning

• All parents are invited to participate in our Title I Planning Process

• Other participants include administrators, teachers, community members, and

students (middle school and high school)

• During the planning, we will work together to:

• Conduct a needs assessment by reviewing three years of student data, in addition

to surveys, evaluations, and other feedback;

• Determine our school’s strengths and areas for improvement

• Set goals for improvement

• Determine how to spend Title I funds allocated to the school to improve academic

achievement of our low performing students

• Revise our School-wide Plan for Improvement

Needs Assessment

• Each summer, school faculty meet to review and discuss school

data. This data includes the following:

CRCT, End of Course Tests, Graduation Rate, Attendance, and Course

Failure Rates

Teacher qualifications

Class size and course offerings

• Once reviewed, a detailed decision is reached regarding the

needs of each school.

Needs Assessment (cont’d)

(Insert school name) school’s needs assessment revealed areas for

improvement in (Revise based on school needs: Reading, Writing,

Math, Science, and Social Studies. Additional concerns were found

in the areas of Attendance, Discipline, and Technology, etc.)

Needs Assessment

The information below details our school’s current needs: (List all

areas indentified in your Need’s Assessment)

• Reading –

• Writing –

• Math –

• Science –

• Social Studies –

• Attendance –

• Discipline –

• Technology, etc. –

Parent Involvement Set Aside

• For the 2013-2014 school year, Polk School District has received

approximately $2,497,082 for Title I.

• By law, one percent (1%) of the total amount received is “set aside” for

parent involvement. The parent involvement set aside for 2013-2014 is

$24,971.

• About ninety-five percent (95%) of the parent involvement set aside goes

directly to the Title I Schools.

• Polk School District Principals have all agreed to combine each school’s

parent involvement funds to provide a Parent Involvement Coordinator at

each school.

Title I Parent Center

• The (Name of School)’s Parent Center is located (Give exact location of where the Parent Center is located on the school’s campus.)

• The Parent Center is open (center hours).

• The Parent Involvement Coordinator (PIC) is _______________________.

• Each Parent Involvement Coordinator has her own webpage that is located on the school website under Teacher websites ( by her last name)

Title I Parent Center

• The Parent Center resources and the PIC are available to

support you in meeting the instructional needs of your children.

• The Center will be offering many workshops/training sessions for

parents throughout this school year.

Remember, our Parent Center

is a place you can always go for assistance.

Title I Parent Involvement Policy

• The Title I Parent Involvement Policy describes our plan for involving you and

other parents in your children’s education.

• A copy of the our school’s Title I Parent Involvement Policy is available on our

school website. Paper copies are also available in our Parent Resource

Center.

• Our plan provides detailed information about the workshops/training sessions

that will be presented for parents this school year.

• Invitations and reminders about these events which will also be posted on our

school website, text alert, e-mail alert, and phone message system.

Title I School/Parent Compact

• One way to support student achievement is through a Title I School/Parent

Compact. Our compacts are located on the Parent Involvement Coordinator’s

webpage. Paper copies were sent home with your child.

• The Compact is an agreement made by administrators, teachers, parents, and

students about the kinds of things each will do to ensure that children are meeting

grade level expectations.

• Research shows that when parents know what their children are doing in school and

help support them at home, children will be more successful in school.

• Each grade or department worked with parents to develop specific grade level skills

students need for success.

• During Parent/Teacher conferences this compact will be reviewed.

Title I Parent Receipt of Documents

You will receive a letter stating you have received the following

documents:

• Notice that the student handbook (English and Spanish) is located at www.polk.k12.ga.us and a paper

copy is available at the school.

• Letter on my schools ESEA Designation Status

• School-Parent Compact

• Letter on information requesting teacher and/or paraprofessional qualifications

• Notice of where the parent resource center is located

• Notice of Community Eligibility Option ( free breakfast and lunch information for all students in Polk

School District)

• All parent documents are available in my native language by making this request to the school

Parent Involvement Coordinator.

• Please sign and return this letter to your child’s homeroom

teacher. This serves as the school’s documentation of

compliance for federal monitoring purposes.

Parents’ Rights

As a parent, you have rights that you should understand:

• You have the right to request information about the qualifications

(certification and teaching credentials) of your child’s teacher or

paraprofessional.

• You have the right under the Family Educational Rights & Privacy

Act (FERPA) of 1974 to protect the privacy of your child’s education

records.

• High Schools under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

(ESEA) must comply with a request by a military recruiter or an

institution of higher education for secondary students’ names,

addresses, and telephone numbers, unless you as a parent opt out

of providing such information.

Parents’ Rights

• If you have complaints or concerns about our school’s Title I

Program, you may submit them to ________________________,

the Assistant Principal (AP).

• The Asst. Principal may be reached by phone (insert phone

number), by email (insert email), or by visiting the school. The AP’s

office is located (insert location).

• All of these parent rights are also listed in the Polk School District

Code of Conduct Handbook which is located on our school webpage

or a paper copy is available in the Parent Resource Center.

Parent Involvement Needs

• Please make sure that you sign–in on the parent sign-in sheet located

with your child’s homeroom teacher for tonight’s Title I Annual

Orientation Meeting.

• We appreciate your help in documenting your involvement in our

school’s parent programs.

McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless

Children and Youth

Who Qualifies?

Under McKinney-Vento law, children who lack

“fixed, regular, and adequate” residence are eligible

for services.

Children and youth who share the housing of other

persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or

similar reasons.

Main Goals for students who qualify are:

• To remove any barrier that will keep a student

from succeeding in school.

• To keep students in their school of origin unless it

is against the parent/guardian/unaccompanied

youth’s wishes; is not feasible or not in the best

interest of the student.

• Provide the student with the necessary supplies

and support to be successful in school

Who do I contact for more information

or assistance?

Please complete the “yellow” parent questionnaire in

your child’s enrollment packet.

Return this to your child’s homeroom teacher.

If your child meets the eligibility criteria, you will

receive a letter from the Homeless Coordinator.

_______________________, School Counselor will also

be available for any questions.

Additional information about McKinney-Vento Education for

Homeless Children and Youth may be found under the Title I

Department on the Polk School District webpage.

Migrant Education

• The Migrant Education Program (MEP) is a

federally funded program designed to support

comprehensive educational programs for migrant

children to help reduce the educational disruption

and other problems that result from repeated

moves. Please contact Marina Runyon

(mrunyon@polk.k12.ga.us) at 770-748-4932 for

more information.

Thanks

Thank you to all of our parents, our students,

our teachers, and our staff for your commitment to

our school and for being here tonight. Together we

can attain success for all of our students. As the

achievement standards continue to rise,

we will meet the even higher goals that have been

set for us this year.

Title I Schoolwide Programs

support

The mission of Polk School District is to

provide a quality education in order to

prepare each student for the next stage

in his or her life.