Title I Program

Bow Elementary School Title I School Plan

2017-2018

Title I Program Overview

Title I is a compensatory program funded by an annual grant from the Federal government (funded through Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA). The program is designed to provide services to students with educational disadvantages whose academic progress is at-risk.

Title I math instruction is intended to be supplemental to regular classroom instruction and is not intended to replace core instruction by the classroom teacher. The purpose of the supplemental math support is to provide students with additional instruction in their areas of need with the aim to reach grade level benchmarks. Based on the demographics of the district, schools are allocated federal funds. This information is based from the Census and the Free and Reduced lunch program for our district.

Title I funds are used to hire additional personnel and to purchase educational resources that will benefit the students to reach their individual goals. The Title I program in the Bow School District is a targeted program. Students are identified for participation through the use of specific criteria. Instruction occurs in small groups.

Guidance and support for these programs are provided by a state coordinator. The local programs are overseen by a school project manager who is responsible for developing the grant as well as its design, implementation and instructional model.

Key component of the Title I Program

Supplementary Services must be in addition to the instruction of the classroom teacher.

    • Coordination - Supplementary instruction is coordinated with classroom instruction. It is designed for reinforcement, reteaching, remediation and/or pre-teaching of a skill (e.g. vocabulary development)

    • Communication - Communication between paraprofessionals, teachers, and specialists along with the parents.

    • Parent Involvement - Parents receive progress reports on their children, monthly newsletters with numerous suggestions for helping their child and are invited to school-based information activities.

Specifics of the Title I Program

What assessments do we use and how do we identify students for Title I intervention?

We review i-Ready and AIMSweb data for whole school. In Kindergarten, children who are below target in AIMSweb or i-Ready and with teacher recommendation are eligible. In 1st grade, children who are below average on AIMSweb or i-Ready and have classroom teacher recommendation are eligible. In 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade, children who score below the 40th percentile on the i-Ready assessment are eligible for intervention. Students are monitored every two weeks with i-Ready, at the end of each unit in class and three times a year with i-Ready. Progress is recorded and the intervention is considered successful if students grow towards grade level expectations. Consultation with staff is on-going to coordination classroom and intervention work. Yearly data is reviewed around number of children served and exited.

What else do we consider besides assessments?

Teacher recommendation, classroom assessments and grade level assessments are also used in determining student success. When selecting children we work from the most needy up a rank ordered list of all students.

Title I is designed to provide additional support or add value to the BES program. What does that look like?

Title I services are available during the school year to the lowest 15 students that are eligible and these services are beyond what they would normally receive if there were no Title I services available.

Title I is not the only program to support children at BES. How is math intervention coordinated across grades, programs and classrooms?

Math intervention is coordinated by the BES Math Specialist, special education teachers and the Title I math teacher. Or, all certified educators that provide services work at the same table to assure that children receive adequate programming.

How exactly are students selected?

We review i-Ready and AIMSweb data for whole school. In Kindergarten, children who are below target in i-Ready or AIMSweb and with teacher recommendation are eligible. In 1st grade, children who are below average on AIMSweb and have classroom teacher recommendation are eligible. In 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade, children who score below the 40th percentile on the i-Ready assessment are eligible for intervention. Eligible children are ranked from lowest to highest. Starting from the lowest, each child's program is considered to determine if Title I math services are warranted. Children are added to the Title I caseload up to 15 at a time. Caseload will be monitored in relation to homeless and migrant children needs such that their needs are met.

Does our Title I teacher receive ongoing professional development?

District PD and Title II-A funds are coordinated the curriculum director. The director coordinates efforts with the principals, department heads and specialists in the district to determine PD needs. Our Title I teacher is included in these professional development efforts.

How does the Title I program support children who are homeless or in transition?

The Title I project manager works closely with the district Homeless Education Liaison and District Social Worker around providing support and services for children who are homeless. Title I homeless set-aside funds will be used for what is needed, but tutoring, services and fees are most common. We will locate and hire a HQT individual to support middle and high school students. Elementary students will be supported by our Title I teacher at BES.

How are children in Foster Care supported?

Children involved in the Foster or Juvenile Justice systems will be supported and monitored through our Student Services Director's office. The director will become involved with Child Welfare and the student's team to assure that enrollment, transfer decisions and data management are all done in the best interest of the child. At the school level, children involved in the Foster Care System will be enrolled without standard record acquisition if acquiring the records delays enrollment. The district Student Services Director will work with child welfare to determine if children in foster care need school transportation and determine how that would best be arranged. The Student Services Director will maintain a list of children in foster care and then monitor their achievement data separate and with the entire school population.

How are children who are migratory supported?

Children who are migratory are eligible for Title I services if they meet the eligibility criteria. Given that we provide services to children across several team members, space will be preserved for children who enroll at BES who are migrant.

How are parents involved in BES and the Title I program?

BES involves parents through Open Houses, volunteers, direct correspondence, parent-teacher conferences, dissemination of information, concerts, programs surveys, report cards, progress notes and individual phone calls and emails. The school principal is involved with the school, Title I and the PTO and facilitates the entire parent involvement piece of BES. Title I parents are invited by the principal to an annual Title I evening meeting where information is shared by school personnel and information is sought from parents via conversation and survey. Teachers and case managers are in regular contact with families to assess goodness of fit and alert the school nurse, school principal, school guidance counselor and/or the district social worker around particular needs parents may have. Parents Right-To-Know is included in the family handbook. All request are send by the principal or the HR coordinator within a week of the request.

    • The Title I School will hold an annual meeting in a timely manner to inform participating families about the program, parental rights and responsibilities, and opportunities for partnership between the school and the home in building the student’s academic skills. At the initial meeting the staff will:

    • ensure that all parents receive the ‘parents right to know’ document, regarding teacher qualifications;

    • provide information about the assessments used in determining eligibility and the nature and content of specific programs that will be used to supplement classroom instruction;

    • provide written information about the results of their particular student’s assessment and the content of the program in which their child will be participating within one week of the start date for their child’s instruction; and

    • follow-up with phone calls to clarify any information needed.

    • Parents will be informed of meetings in writing and if possible, invited personally via phone call. If there is a need expressed for childcare or transportation, the Title I program will make arrangements for students (when appropriate) and siblings to be cared for on-site during the meetings free of charge to the parents. If needed, transportation will be made available to parents wishing to attend.

    • Additional meetings may be scheduled during the year to provide an opportunity for parents to ask questions and gain information about academic development and strategies to help their students succeed. Meetings will be geared toward meeting the expressed needs of the parents with regard to their student’s academic development and skills.

    • Parent feedback will be gathered to assess the program’s effectiveness and to help inform future decisions about its scope and content.

Parents Right to Know

Title I, Part A of ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act, 2017)

In an effort to comply with federal Title I guidelines, the Bow School District, through the parent handbook, notifies parents/families of each student attending the school that:

Parents may request and should receive (in a timely manner) information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teachers, including the following:

    • Whether the teacher/s has met State of N.H. qualifications for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instructions;

    • Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other professional status that the State of N.H. waived;

    • The degree emphasis/major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher and the field of discipline of the certification or degree; and

    • Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

Additional Information-A school that receives Title I funds must provide to each individual parent:

    • Information on the level of achievement the child has made on all state assessments; and

    • Timely notice that the parent’s child has been assigned or taught for four (4) or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified.

For more information regarding Title I programs, please contact Kurt Gergler, Principal, Bow Elementary School at kgergler@bownet.org

Modified July 21, 2017