Norwood Public Schools

What is Title I? |  Parent brochure - Title I Information

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What is Title I?

Title I, Part A - Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged

Title I, Part A, is intended to help ensure that all children have the opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach proficiency on challenging state academic standards and assessments. As the largest federal program supporting elementary and secondary education, Title I targets these resources to the districts and schools where the needs are greatest. 

Title I is the federal government’s biggest program for elementary and secondary education.  Its purpose is to give extra money to schools and school districts that serve many low income and struggling students.  The money must be used to improve academic achievement in basic subjects and engage families in the education of their children.  Your child does not need to be in a low income family to qualify for Title I services. 

Title I is the first of ten titles in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, first created in 1965 and renewed every five years since.  The new reauthorization is called “No Child Left Behind”.  For more information about Title I, visit the United States department of education web site: wwwnochildleft behind.gov  or the Massachusetts Department of Education web site : www.doe.mass.edu/title I.

Title I Program   

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides financial assistance to state and local agencies to meet the needs of at-risk children.  The goal of Title I is to provide instructional services and activities which support students in meeting the challenge of the Massachusetts State Curriculum Frameworks and the Common Core Standards. 

How does our school receive Title I money? 

First, the federal government provides funding to each state.  

Then, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education sends this money to school districts.  How much money each school receives is determined by the number of low-income students attending that school. 

Finally, Title I schools:

• Identify students at their school who need the most educational assistance based on the criteria that the school system has chosen.  Students do NOT have to be from low-income families to receive Title I services. 
• The school system sets goals for improving the skills of educationally disadvantaged students. 
• Student progress is measure to determine the success of the Title I program for each student. 
• Programs are developed and implemented for each student in order to support/supplement regular classroom instruction. 

Targeted Assistance School Program

A Targeted Assistance School Program is designed to meet the needs of targeted students who are most in need of academic support in a Title I-A school.  A school must create a written plan with input from the school staff and assistance from the district.  All teachers and paraprofessionals must be aware of the plan, not just the administrators and Title I-A teachers. 

Ten Compliance Components of a Targeted Assistance Program
The school must develop a comprehensive targeted assistance plan that describes how it will meet the needs of targeted students.  The Targeted Assistance Program plan must: 

• Identify students using multiple academically related, objective criteria;
• Monitor progress of targeted students;
• Use research-based instructional strategies that provides extended time, minimizes removing children from the regular classroom and uses an accelerated high quality curriculum for Title I-A instruction and incorporate Title I-A planning into existing school planning, including a needs assessment of the entire school based on academic achievement;
• Provide instruction by highly qualified teachers and paraprofessionals;
• Offer high-quality, on-going professional development;
• Create strategies to increase family involvement;
• Coordinate and integrate federal, state and local services and programs;
• Develop plans to assist preschool students through the transition from early childhood programs to local elementary school programs or from other grade level schools to the next school grade level;
• Annually evaluate the progress and effectiveness of the plan;
• Determine a budget which benefits targeted students and Title I-A staff.

Targeted Assistance School Program  -
Norwood Public Schools

Which schools does Title I serve in Norwood? 

Title I serves children in elementary and secondary schools who have demonstrated that extra assistance is needed.  Title I also serves children in parochial and private schools. 

Norwood Public Schools offers targeted assistance, through Title I funding, in the following schools: 

• Balch Elementary School – 2 full time English Language Arts teachers
• Callahan Elementary School –1  full time English Language Arts teacher
• Oldham Elementary School – 1.5 English Language Arts teachers
• Coakley Middle School – 1 full time English Language Arts teacher

What will Title I do for my child? 

The Title I Program will provide your child with extra educational assistance beyond the regular classroom.  Title I teachers will consult with your child’s classroom teacher, the building principal and other staff to plan intervention for your child.  Intervention will be based on MCAS results, system wide assessments and teacher evaluations.   This extra assistance will be in the form of pull out instruction, inclusion – within the regular classroom, after school tutoring, or summer school.  A variety of supplementary teaching methods will be used in conjunction with the curriculum of the Norwood Public Schools.  An individualized program will be designed, if necessary.  Additional teaching materials, which supplement the regular instruction, will be available.