Serving New Title I Schools April 15, 2009. Julie McCargar Executive Director, Office of Federal...

Serving New Title I SchoolsApril 15, 2009

Julie McCargar Executive Director, Office of Federal Programs

Marjorie Douglas NCLB Regional Coordinator, West TN

Debbie Owens Associate Executive Director, Office of Federal Programs

Rita Fentress Public School Choice/Supplemental Education Services Project Director

Agenda

• Overview of Title I• Transitioning from a non-Title I school to a

Title I school• Questions• Fiscal Aspects of Title I Schools• Questions• High Priority Title I Schools• Questions

Audience

• Local Title I Directors

• Principals of Schools New to Title I

• Exemplary Educators

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Title I ARRA Funds

Remember to use these funds that you can defend to the public as they will be publicly reported and studied.

Funds must be budgeted based on a school’s needs as a consequence of its TSIP needs assessment.

Overview of Title IDr. Julie McCargar

Executive Director

Office of Federal Programs

History of Title I

• Elementary and Secondary Education Act – 1965

• Part of President Johnson’s War on Poverty

• School-based program

• Started as a supplemental program that “targeted” certain students who were falling behind academically

Two Program Designs for Title I Schools

Targeted Assistance Program

Schoolwide School

Requirements for Both Schools

• Parent Involvement Policy and Parent/School Compacts

• Parent Notification Requirements– School Status– Non-Highly Qualified Teachers

• Annual Parent Meeting– Share school’s progress– Share school’s Title I plan (TSIP)

Personnel

• All core subject teachers must be highly qualified in all schools

• Only paraprofessionals in Title I schools or programs need to be highly qualified

• Parent notification required in Title I schools after 4 consecutive weeks when a child has been taught by a non-HQ teacher

Highly Qualified Paraprofessionals

• Paraprofessionals must be highly qualified if they provide instructional services (qualifications at http://www.tennessee.gov/education/fedprog/fpguidance.shtml )

• Paraprofessionals must work with a highly qualified teacher

• May need to transfer staff to other schools if paraprofessionals aren’t HQ

Transitioning From

NON-TITLE I Schools to

TITLE I Schools

Marjorie Douglas

Two types of Title I Programs

• Schoolwide

• Targeted Assistance

Eligibility for a Schoolwide program

Minimum of 40% of the students must be from

low-income families

Poverty Calculation

• Free and Reduced Lunch Count• Feeder pattern concept may be used

for middle schools and high schools- This concept allows the LEA to use the poverty rate of feeder schools to determine whether a school meets the 40% poverty threshold to operate a schoolwide program.

Essential differences between

schoolwide (SW) and

targeted assistance (TA) programs?

Schoolwide

• A schoolwide school uses all available resources (State, local, and federal) to upgrade the entire educational program; its primary goal is to ensure that all students, particularly those who are low-achieving, demonstrate proficient and advanced levels of achievement on State academic achievement standards.

Schoolwide Cont.

• In a schoolwide school individual students are not identified as Title I participants.

• No distinctions are made between staff paid with Title I funds and staff paid from other funding sources.

Schoolwide Staff

• In a schoolwide school all school staff are expected to direct their efforts toward upgrading the entire educational program and improving the achievement of all students, particularly those who are low achieving.

Targeted Assistance

• A targeted assistance program employs staff paid with Title I funds to serve only those students who have been identified as being most at-risk of not meeting the State’s challenging standards.

• Multiple measures of student academic achievement are used to determine which students are eligible to participate in the program.

Targeted Assistance Cont

• In a targeted assistance program services to eligible students may be provided through one or more of the following compliance models: in class, add-on, pullout, or replacement.

Research Findings

• Schoolwide or targeted assistance?

Effective schools research points to the value of implementing comprehensive improvement strategies throughout an entire school as a way of improving outcomes for individual students.

All Students Can Learn

• Research findings reinforce the fact that all students, including the lowest performing students, in high-poverty schools can master challenging academic content and complex problem solving skills when resources, practices, and procedures are coordinated across an entire school.

School Improvement Plan Components

• All Title I schools (schoolwide and targeted assistance) must have a current school improvement plan which includes required components.

• The existing School Improvement Planning team may be utilized to review/ update the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and add Title I required components not currently found in the SIP.

10 Schoolwide Components

1. A comprehensive needs assessment of the entire school using data analysis of NCLB subgroups.

2. Schoolwide reform strategies with emphasis on improved achievement of the lowest achieving students;

3. Instruction by highly qualified staff as addressed in NCLB;

4. Highly quality and ongoing professional development activities;

5. Strategies to attract highly qualified teachers to high needs schools;

6. Strategies to increase effective parental involvement;

10 SIP SW Components, Cont

7. Plans for assisting preschool children from early childhood programs to elementary school programs;

8. Measures to include teachers in assessment decisions regarding the use of assessment in improving student performance and instructional programs;

9. Strategies for providing timely additional assistance to students experiencing difficulties mastering standards; and

10.Coordination and integration of federal, state, and local services and programs.

Legal Requirements Reference

• See requirements in Comprehensive Monitoring Document

• http://www.state.tn.us/education/fedprog/fpmonitoring.shtml

Must every school spend an entire year planning before implementing a schoolwide

program?

• An exception to this general rule may be made if the LEA determines In consultation with your NCLB Consultant that the school needs less time to develop and implement its schoolwide program.

School Improvement Plan

• Tennessee’s school improvement planning process requires planning to be a continuous activity for all schools.

• Effective programs incorporate planning into a continuous cycle of improvement.

Adjust SIP

• All schools (Title I and non-Title I) in Tennessee are required to regularly monitor and adjust their plans using updated school profile information, a reassessment of needs, and the results of formative and summative assessments.

Resources

• Your assigned NCLB Consultant

• NCLB Act of 2001

• Title I Regulations

Resources (continued)

• USDOE Guidance Documents: -“Local Educational Agency Identification and Selection of

School Attendance Areas and Schools and Allocation of Title I Funds to those Areas and Schools” (August, 2003)

-“Targeted Assistance Schools” (April, 1996) -”Designing Schoolwide Programs” (March, 2006) Note- Be sure to review Appendix VIII: Finalizing the

Schoolwide Plan- A Rubric for Monitoring and Evaluation.

http://www.state.tn.us/education/fedprog/fptitle1.shtml

Questions?

Fiscal Aspects of Title I Schools

Debra E. Owens, Ph.D.

Fiscal Aspects of Title I Schools

• Supplement not Supplant

• Personnel Documentation

• Supplies and Equipment

• Incentives

• Comparability

• District Set-Asides

Supplement Not Supplant

• Can not use federal funds to pay for services, staff, programs, or materials that would otherwise be paid with state or local funds.

• Always ask: “What would have happened in the absence of federal funds?”

Presume Supplanting 3 Situations:

• Used federal funds to provide services the LEA is required to make available under other federal, state, or local laws.

• Used federal funds to provide services the LEA provided with state or local funds in the prior year.

• Used Title I, Part A funds to provide the same services to Title I students that the LEA or SEA provides with state or local funds to nonparticipating students.

Documentation to Avoid Supplanting Presumption

Document:

1) Fiscal or programmatic documentation to confirm that, without fed funds, staff or other services would have been eliminated

2) State or local legislative action

3) Budget histories and information

Documentation Cont.

MUST SHOW

• Actual reduction in state or local funds

• Decision to eliminate service/position was made without regard to availability of federal funds (including reason decision was made)

Documentation Cont.

• HAVE copies of board meeting minutes that show position/program is eliminated. The reason decision was made (not because federal funds can pick them up).

• Must eliminate staff positions or service.

• Afterwards LEA can reinstate positions or program.

Personnel Documentation

• Certifications of Employment from 7/1 to 12/ 31 and 1/1 to 6/30 (SW and TA)

• Principal Attestation for Title I Schools (SW and TA)

• Staff in TA schools must only serve TA students

• Multi-funded personnel must fill out PARs form to account for federal Title programs (like Title IA and IIA)

Purchasing of Equipment & Supplies

4 Federal Cost Principles

• Necessary- to improve academic achievement & part of school plan

• Reasonable-cost, bids

• Allocable-used for activities intended by funds

• Legal-no prohibited items

Use of Equipment After Termination of Federal Funds

EDGAR 80.32 (c)(1) & (2)

*Can use equipment as long as needed even if no more fed funds.

*Make equipment available to others with current or prior fed funding if it doesn’t interfere with original use.

Incentives

• No student stipends are allowable

• Title I teacher performance incentives are allowable only at high priority schools

• Initial recruitment incentives are allowable at Title I schools

Comparability

• Remember that comparability still applies when adding staff to non-Title I versus Title I schools

District Set-Asides

• Homeless• 1% for parental involvement if grant over

$500,000 in total Title I funds• Equitable Services for Private School Students• 10% Professional Development for High Priority

School Improvement status• 20% for SES and PSC• Optional: Pre-K or Extended Year• Optional: District-wide activities-written

description needed

USDOE Guidance

Title I Fiscal Issues: MOE, Comparabilty, Supplement, Not Supplant, Carryover, Consolidating Funds in SW, Grantback Requirements, Feb 2008

http://www.state.tn.us/education/fedprog/fpfiscalinfo.shtml

Funds under Title I, Part A of the ESEA of 1965 under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), April 2009

http://www.state.tn.us/education/fedprog/fpfiscalinfo.shtml

Questions?

High Priority Title I Schools

Rita Fentress

High Priority Schools

• Title I vs. Non-Title I Schools– State law– NCLB

• Both are provided with specially trained Exemplary Educators (EEs)

• Focus on requirements for Title I High Priority Schools– Complicated– Monitored by NCLB staff – Receive Title I School Improvement Funds

Title I High Priority Schools

• Additional requirements for Title I Schools that become high priority based on their status.– 10% reservation for professional

development in High Priority Title I schools in School Improvement Years 1 and 2.

• Additional components for TSIP when Title I school is identified to reflect NCLB requirements.– Discuss with NCLB consultant

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

The opportunity for ALL students enrolled in a High Priority Title I school identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring to transfer to another public school in the school district.

SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

The opportunity for low income students in High Priority Title I schools identified for School Improvement, Year 2, Corrective Action or Restructuring to receive free tutoring outside the school day.

A district may choose to offer SES in High Priority Title I schools in the first year of improvement but must also offer Public School Choice.

Receiving Schools

May include:• Title I schools within the LEA that have not been

identified as High Priority schools.• Non-Title I schools within the LEA that have not been

identified as High Priority schools.• High Priority Non-Title I schools within the LEA that are

identified for improvement.

May not include:• High Priority Title I schools in the LEA that have been

identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring.

Parent Notification

• Written notice about the school’s improvement status, the Public School Choice option and the possibility of eligibility for SES.

• No later than 14 days prior to the start of the school year. (Waiver possible 09)

• In an easily understood language and format.

Address the School’s Status

1. Explain what the High Priority designation means.

2. Explain how the school compares to other schools in the LEA or state.

3. Identify reasons for identification.

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Address the Problem

4. Explain what the LEA or state is doing to address the problem.

5. Explain how parents can be involved in addressing the problem.

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DescribeTransfer Option

7. Provide information on the academic achievement of the receiving schools.

8. Explain the PSC application process.

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Enrollment Information

• Provide specific enrollment information.

• Avoid creation of barriers.

• Provide ample time for decisions.

Additional Means of Notification

• Partner with outside group(s) to help inform parents of eligible students of the Public School Choice transfer option.

• Publicize in newspapers

• Air Television

• LEA website

• Radio Spots

FUNDING ISSUE$How much must an LEA pay for

SES?

An amount equal to 20% of its Title I, Part A allocation, before any reservations on:

1. Choice-related transportation;2. SES; or3. A combination of 1 & 2

Supplemental Educational Services

Supplemental Educational Services (SES) is additional academic instruction, outside the regular school day, designed to increase academic achievement of students in schools in need of improvement.

Eligible Students

• Low-income students who attend High Priority Title I schools in need of improvement.

• Eligible students are prioritized by greatest academic need if funds are limited.

The School System’s Role

• Provide a minimum of two enrollment windows throughout school year.

• Notify parents of options to receive SES, include an SES provider list.

• Help parents select a provider, if requested.• Prioritize students for service if funds are not

available to serve all who request.

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OUTREACH TO PARENTS – A Letter Is Not Enough

• Partner with outside groups

• Provide minimum of two SES enrollment windows.

• Broadly disseminate SES information and sign up forms.

• Spend 1% of the required 20% reservation on parent outreach.

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Access to Schools

• Ensure that SES providers are given access to school facilities to provide services, using fair, open objective access

Resources

US Dept. of Education

• http://www.ed.gov/nclb/choice/help/edpicks.jhtml

Tennessee Dept. of Education

• http://tn.gov/education/fedprog/fpschlchoice.shtml

• http://tn.gov/education/fedprog/fpses.shtml

Questions