Title I Part A - Program Description

The purpose of Title I, Part A of Public Law 107-110 is to enable schools to provide opportunities for children served to acquire the knowledge and skills contained in the challenging state content standards and to meet the challenging state performance standards developed for all children.  This purpose is accomplished by such efforts as:

  •     providing an enriched and accelerated educational program;
  •     promoting school-wide reform through school-wide programs or through additional services that increase the amount and quality of instructional time;
  •     significantly upgrading the quality of instruction by providing staff in participating schools with substantial opportunities for professional development; and
  •     parent involvement-affording parents meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children at home and at school.

 

School Selection/Allocation of Funds

Williamsburg County School District has 11 school-wide Title 1 schools. School allocations are based on information received from the March, 135th Day Attendance Count, and the multiplier. Once a poverty index for the district is determined, then the schools are ranked from greatest to least in percent poverty. These Federal funds may be combined with state, local, and district funds to allow for initiatives that support program and instructional improvements.

Planning Committee

Each Title 1 school has a school-level planning team. Each team must be assembled in each Title 1 school to give input on the use of all Title 1 expenditures. The required planning team representatives must include, but are not limited to: principal, teachers, additional staff members, parents, student service worker, district administrator, technical assistance provider, community members, and high school students.

The planning team meets regularly throughout the year to discuss the implementation of the current plan and to decide on changes or additions to the plan for the upcoming school year. The planning team should be given the following for documentation purposes:

  •     an invitation
  •     agenda
  •     sign-in sheet
  •     minutes

 

Needs Assessment

The law requires that each Title 1 school conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to identify the needs of the students in an effort to sustain and increase student growth. The plan is a reflection and indicator of the various assessments, program, and additional data which includes: attendance, reports, teacher surveys, parent surveys, etc.

The following is the purpose of the needs assessment:

  •     identify strengths and challenges of daily, as well as, standardized assessments
  •     develop a plan of action to implement progress monitoring in areas of concern
  •     provide professional development opportunities to support teachers in best practices
  •     review and reflect on trend data as a means of analyzing performance of targeted subgroups

A needs assessment will not only identify areas that need to be addressed by the Title 1 plan, but will act as a basis for building a priorities list on which subsequent plans can be based.

 

Research-Based Instruction

Research-based instruction is included to address the needs of the students within the Title 1 school. Once the areas of greatest need have been determined, research-based strategies are selected. The South Carolina College and Career Ready Standards are used as a basis for deciding which instructional strategies are selected.

 

Documentation

The Office of Federal and State Accountability has allowed each school district access to Title 1 Crate. Title 1 Crate is a web-based, interactive filing system designed to store, monitor and manage ALL of the compliance documentation required to operate a Title 1 school in one convenient place. In addition to Crate, the state department will continue to conduct monitoring visits to district and school sites to ensure schools follow all legal requirements for planning and implementing their Title 1 plans. Each of the activities in the Title 1 plan include documentation to support the implementation of strategies as required by Title 1.