Federal Programs

Title I (CFDA: 84.010):

Title I, Part A is part of the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This Act provides Title I, Part A funds through the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and public schools with high numbers or percentages of low-income children to help ensure that all children meet challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards.

Each schools receive Title I, Part A funds based on poverty percentage and school population. These funds are utilized for the most academically at-risk students to support school efforts tied to challenging state academic standards to reinforce and enhance efforts to improve teaching and learning for students.

Title I, Part A programs are based on effective means of improving student academic achievement and include strategies to support parent and family engagement.

There are three basic components of a Title I, Part A program that are essential to effective implementation:

• Conducting a comprehensive needs assessment of the entire school, using academic achievement data and perception data from school staff, parents, families, and others in the community. Using a systematic method, such as root-cause analysis, the comprehensive needs assessment should identify the major problem areas that the school needs to address. The comprehensive needs assessment should take into account information on the academic achievement of children in relation to the challenging State academic standards, particularly the needs of those children who are failing, or are at-risk of failing, to meet the challenging State academic standards.

• Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) describes how the school will improve academic achievement throughout the school, but particularly for the lowest-achieving students, by addressing the major problem areas identified in the comprehensive needs assessment. The CSIP is developed with the involvement of parents, families, and other members of the community to be served and individuals who will carry out such plan, including teachers, principals, other school leaders, staff, and students if it relates to a secondary school.

• Annually reviewing the CSIP, using data from the State’s assessments, other indicators of academic achievement, and perception data to determine if the schoolwide program has been effective in addressing the major problem areas and, in turn, increasing student achievement, particularly for the lowest-achieving students. The plan and its implementation is regularly monitored and revised as necessary based on student needs to ensure that all students are provided opportunities to meet the challenging State academic standards.

Title II, Part A

• The purpose of the Title II, Part A grant is to increase student achievement consistent with challenging State academic standards.
• To improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other school leaders.
• To increase the number of teachers who are effective in improving student academic achievement in schools.
• To provide low-income and minority students greater access to effective teachers, principals, and other school leaders.

ESSA section 2102(b)(3) states: The District shall:

• Conduct meaningful consultation with teachers, principals, other school leaders, paraprofessionals (including organizations representing such individuals), specialized instructional support personnel, charter school leaders (in a local educational agency that has charter schools), parents, community partners, and other organizations or partners with relevant and demonstrated expertise in programs and activities designed to meet the purpose of this title.
• Seek advice from the individuals and organizations described in subparagraph (A) regarding how best to improve the local educational agency’s activities to meet the purpose of this title.

ESSA encourages meaningful consultation and ongoing stakeholder engagement that helps ensure that diverse stakeholders play a more active role in the comprehensive needs assessment process. Meaningful stakeholder engagement starts at the beginning of the process, when initial planning is getting started; not at the end, when a plan is nearing completion. The goal of meaningful engagement should be for stakeholders to leave feeling heard, informed, and aware of how they can stay involved.