Title I

Title I began in the mid 1960 ’s as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. It is the largest federal assistance program for our public schools, used primarily in improving students' academic performance.  The largest Title I program is Part A, which distributes funds to school districts based on census counts of children from low-income families. 

The most recent reauthorization of ESEA was the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, which expanded the scope of Title I in public education and imposed sweeping requirements in areas such as annual testing, annual academic progress, report cards, teacher qualifications, and funding changes.  In 2015, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the new reauthorization of ESEA, called the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which will go into effect July 1, 2017.  Unlike NCLB, ESSA provides states, districts and schools with a great degree of flexibility and responsibility to determine what support and interventions are implemented for student achievement and success.

The purpose of Title I, Part A is to enable schools to provide opportunities for children to acquire the knowledge and skills contained in Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and to meet the standards of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) for students in grades 3-8 and the STAAR End of Course Exams for core subjects (English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies) in grades 9-11.

• Determined by number of low-income students in the district
• Districts allocate their funds to schools based on the poverty level
• Schools serve the lowest-performing students to help them achieve academically
• Provides supplemental programs and services

States, districts, and schools are held accountable for raising academic performance of all students, narrowing the achievement gap between underachieving groups and their more advanced peers, and enabling those most at risk to reach state academic standards by the following methods:

• Targeting dollars to low-performing students
• Placing a “highly qualified” teacher in every classroom
• Improving the qualifications of paraprofessionals
• Offering professional development for staff
• Using instructional practices and programs based on research
• Involving parents in their child’s education

Campuses qualify for Title I funding based upon their free or reduced lunch percentage.  Title I, Part A campuses are either designated as targeted-assistance campuses or schoolwide campuses.  All Longview ISD Title I, Part A campuses are designated as schoolwide campuses.  Schoolwide campuses are able to use Title I, Part A funds to supplement services, programs and activities that impact the entire school population.  Campus planning and training must include the Ten Schoolwide Components, listed here:

1. A comprehensive needs assessment of the entire school
2. Schoolwide reform strategies that provide opportunities for all children, particularly the needs of children of target populations
3. Instruction by highly qualified professional staff
4. High quality and ongoing professional development for teachers, principals and paraprofessionals
5. Strategies to attract high-quality highly qualified teachers to high-need schools
6. Parental involvement
7. Assisting preschool children in the transition from early childhood programs
8. Include teachers in the decisions regarding the use of assessments
9. Students who experience difficulty mastering any of the state’s standards will be provided with effective, timely additional assistance
10. Coordination and integration of Federal, State, and local services and programs

Funds are primarily used to provide supplemental highly-qualified staff, extended learning time for students, additional materials and supplies, staff development for teachers and family involvement activities.

A Title I school is eligible to become a Title I Schoolwide Program when the poverty level, (determined by free and reduced meal counts, Aid for Dependent Children [AFDC], census, or Medicaid) is at or above 40%.

Schoolwide programs have great latitude to determine how to organize their operations and allocate the multiple funding sources available to them. They do not have to identify particular children as eligible for services or separately track federal dollars. Instead, Schoolwide programs can use all allocated funds to increase the amount and quality of learning time. In this way, they can embrace a high-quality curriculum, according to a comprehensive plan that ensures all children meet the state's challenging academic standards.

Schoolwide programs serve all children in a school. All staff, resources, and classes are part of the overall Schoolwide program. The purpose is to generate high levels of academic achievement in core subject areas for all students, especially those students most in need. This purpose is achieved through:

• High-quality instruction
• Comprehensive reform strategies and methods that are based on the use of scientifically based research
• Strategies and methods to improve teacher quality and professional development
• Consolidated use of funds.