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(Federal Aid Program for Elementary and Secondary Students)
Early Intervention for Academic Success
Title I is the largest federal aid program for elementary and secondary schools. Through it, the federal government provides funding for school districts to support supplementary services designed to improve the educational performance of low-achieving children in high-poverty schools. Under the core Title I program, school districts receive funds through a multi-step allocation process and, in turn, distribute the funds to schools in their jurisdiction with above-average percentages of low-income children
In Virginia Beach City Public Schools, the Title I program is an early intervention model that uses multiple criteria to select students with the greatest academic need in the schools with the highest percentage of poverty.
Selection of Schools
Section 1113 of Title I contains the requirements for identifying eligible school attendance areas and selecting those eligible areas that will participate in Title I, Part A. The division must rank all of its school attendance areas in rank order of poverty. The percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunch is used as the poverty indicator criteria. The district must serve all attendance areas with a poverty rate above 75%, including any middle or high schools. After the district has served all of its areas with a poverty rate above 75%, it may rank remaining areas by grade span groupings. The district will designate as eligible any school attendance area in which at least 43% of the children are from low-income families. All school areas served must be selected in rank order.
Title I guidelines define two types of eligible schools: targeted assistance schools and schoolwide programs. A school qualifies for schoolwide program status when a minimum of 40% of the enrolled students meet the low-income criteria. Targeted assistance schools are those that are eligible for Title I services but do not meet the criteria for schoolwide status.
There are two major differences between a schoolwide program and a targeted assistance school. In a schoolwide program, the Title I personnel may be used with much more flexibility than in a targeted assistance school (e.g., to reduce class size). Schoolwide programs are not required to separately identify eligible children since all students in the school may receive services, but must still target the most academically at-risk students. However, in a schoolwide program, the collection of data on the achievement and assessment results of students must be disaggregated by gender, ethnic or racial group, English proficiency, migrancy, disabilities, and economic status.
Targeted assistance schools are required to separately identify Title I students. These schools must meet similar requirements of schoolwide programs, such as emphasizing accelerated curricula, scheduling extended learning time, using effective methods and instructional strategies that are scientifically research based, providing adequate professional development, and coordinating the Title I activities with other school reform activities.
Eligible Title I Schools in Virginia Beach
The eighteen elementary schools listed below have been selected to receive
Title I services for the 2009-2010 school year.
Title I Targeted Assistance Programs |
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Title I Schoolwide Programs |
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Title I Programs
In the Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Title I funds are used to supplement elementary math and language arts instruction through three educational programs:
Extended Day Kindergarten
Children who are found eligible for the Extended Day Kindergarten Program receive an
additional half-day of instruction outside of the regular half-day kindergarten program. Small classes of fifteen students are staffed with a full-time teacher and teacher assistant. Teachers provide an intensive instructional program that focuses on language arts and mathematics, using a variety of instructional materials and strategies and providing small group and individualized instruction.
Reading Recovery® and Literacy Groups
Reading Recovery® is a nationally recognized program for identified first grade students. Services are provided by teachers who are Reading Recovery certified. Children in the program are pulled out of their regular classroom each day for thirty minutes to receive intensive one-on-one lessons from Reading Recovery teachers. Most students stay in the program from twelve to twenty weeks.
In addition, other first grade students may be identified to receive Title I reading assistance through Literacy Groups. Reading Recovery teachers pull children from their regular classrooms and provide additional instruction in reading and writing in a small group setting.
Resource Reading and Math Resource
Title I Math Resource Teachers and Resource Reading Teachers provide instruction to supplement regular classroom programs. Students who are identified as needing additional support in reading and/or math may receive small group assistance designed to meet their educational needs. Local guidelines state that the Title I Math Resource program may serve students in grades one through five. The Title I Resource Reading program may serve students in grades two through five. Each individual school determines which grade levels are to receive intervention services.
Who can I contact for further information?
For further information on Title I, please contact the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at 757.263.1188 or e-mail janetm.smallwood@vbschools.com.
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