State & Federal Programs/Title I
Mission Statement
The mission of the Office of State and Federal Programs is to provide high quality services, ensure compliance, and guarantee that State and Federal grants supplement and align with the district's vision, initiatives and programs. The Office of State and Federal Programs is responsible for organizing and managing communications with the Ohio Department of Education for State and Federal programming contained within the South-Western City School District's Comprehensive Continuous Improvement Plan with the Ohio Department of Education. The largest grant managed by the office is the Title I section of the Elementary & Secondary Education Act. (Also known as ESEA or No Child Left Behind.)
Comments Sought on Federal Funds
Every year the South-Western School District receives funding from the federal government to provide various educational services. District administrators invite comments from the public regarding the services listed below. Please call or write the State and Federal Programs Office, 4707 Stiles Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43228, 614-801-8390.
Title I monies provide supplemental instructional services in the content areas of reading and mathematics to students in grades K-6 that meet the criteria for service.
Title II-A monies are provided to increase student achievement by enhancing teacher and principal quality through professional development, recruitment, hiring and retention.
Title III monies provide the opportunity for the district to assist in teaching English to Limited English Proficient (LEP) children and helping these students meet the same challenging standards for all students.
ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) Programs Content
Title I (Improving Academic Performance of the Disadvantaged)
Title II-A (Teacher and Principal Quality)
Title III (English Acquisition, Language Enhancement and Academic Achievement)
Title I
Summary of Title I Services
Title I is the federal government’s largest investment in elementary and secondary education and has been continually funded since the first Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 currently authorizes Title I. The expressed purpose is “to ensure all children have a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high quality education and reach proficiency on challenging academic achievement standards."
The South-Western City School District Title I program accomplishes this purpose through funding comprehensive and supplemental school-based services and district level components that complement the District’s improvement plan and initiatives. In addition to fiscal planning and accountability, the State and Federal Programs Office is charged with providing technical assistance for program compliance for schools and the District. With the passage of NCLB, significant emphasis is placed upon the following:
• Parents’ Rights to information and choice
• Highly qualified staff
• Scientific Research Based practices
• Accountability
• Equity for non public students
• Parent Involvement
For the 2012-2013 school year, the South-Western City School District has 15 elementary schools, four intermediate schools, one middle school and one high school that receive Title I federal funds to assist students. The Title I program provides additional instructional support in the areas of reading and mathematics to qualified students at eligible schools. Schools are considered Title I eligible based on the percent of the students who participate in the Free and Reduced Price Lunch program.
Under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act, all school districts are required to notify parents with children in Title I schools that they may request information regarding the professional qualifications of each student’s classroom teachers. This information may include the qualifications listed below:
- If the teacher has met state qualification and licensing criteria for the grade level and subject areas taught;
- If the teacher is teaching under an emergency or temporary status in which state qualification or licensing criteria are waived; the teacher’s baccalaureate degree major, graduate certification, and field of discipline; and
- The qualifications of any paraprofessional that is providing services to the student.
If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact your building principal or the State and Federal Programs Office at 614-801-8390.
The following summarize the key facets of Title I programming within South-Western City Schools.
School-wide Program (SWP) Schools with at least 40 percent poverty may operate as a School-wide Program. School-wide status allows the entire school population to benefit from the Title I dollar/allocation generated by the school’s population. There are ten (10) school-wide requirements in the regulations that must be detailed in the school-wide plan. School-wide plans must be approved by the District and an Ohio Department of Education consultant after a year-long planning process. Each school in this program must have a parent representative on the school leadership team.
Targeted Assistance Schools (TAS): This classification within NCLB refers to schools which are not School-wide. The Title I dollars must be directly beneficial to targeted students – those students identified as most at risk of not meeting the state’s academic reading and math content standards. Eligible students are identified through a Multi-Criteria Checklist process (MCC). Non-public schools are TAS.
Parent Involvement: The involvement of parents is a foundational component of Title I with many specific requirements of providing parents with information, opportunities and resources to help their child(ren) achieve academically. The South- Western City School District offers parents:
- District and school-level parental involvement policies
- Parent, Student and Teacher Compacts
- Materials and/or resources to help parents assist their child(ren)
K-Parent Connect? K-Parent Connect is a group designed for parents having kindergarten students enrolled in the South-Western City School District. The program was piloted in five elementary buildings: East Franklin, Finland, Harmon, Prairie Norton and Stiles Elementary Schools. The program will continue to expand to support all kindergarten students that attend Title 1 schools.
Non Public Services: The law requires that local educational agencies (LEAs) provide equitable educational services to eligible private school students. The “equitable services” requirement applies to all NCLB programs, not just Title I, and extends equitable benefits to eligible private school students, teachers and parents. NCLB significantly strengthened the requirements for:
(1) Flexibility in collecting poverty data and determining allocations;
(2) Solicitation and verification that nonpublic officials participate in meaningful consultation regarding services for non-public students;
Title IIA
The purpose of these funds to the district is to increase student academic achievement through strategies such as improving teacher and principal quality and increasing the number of highly qualified teachers in the classroom and highly qualified principals in schools. This is accomplished through a variety of professional learning opportunities.
For more information contact the Coordinator of Staff Development at (614) 801-3175.
Title III
Title III-Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students funds are used to increase the English proficiency of Limited English students (LEP) by providing high-quality language instruction educational programs based on scientific research and which have been demonstrated to be effective. The funds may also provide high quality professional development to classroom teachers and other staff.
For more information contact the Coordinator of English as a Second Language at (614) 801-3073.
ESEA Flexibility Waiver |
With Ohio's ESEA Flexibility Waiver, districts have flexibility from sanctions and reporting requirements previously mandated in ESEA. In order to receive this flexibility, Ohio has agreed to adopt college-and-career-ready expectations, dedicate more resources to close sub-group achievement gaps, and implement an evaluation system that will support effective instruction and leadership. |
Ohio’s proposal includes:
- Implementation of rigorous standards, assessments and principal and teacher evaluations;
- Replacement of the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measure, which had the unrealistic goal of 100 percent proficiency for reading and mathematics for every student in every demographic group. The new measures include rigorous, but realistic, objectives that aim to cut the achievement gap in reading and mathematics by half over six years, while requiring higher performance from all students;
- Changing the existing rating of schools to an A-F letter-grade system that will be easier to understand and give a realistic picture of school performance. The system and formula will officially begin with the report cards released in August 2013;
- Freeing schools from some reporting requirements and giving them greater flexibility in their use of federal funds for professional development and other purposes.
What's required by Ohio Law?
- Students entering the third grade in the 2013-14 school year will not be permitted to be promoted to fourth grade if they score below the state board's 'cut' score for third grade reading assessments/OAA.
- By December 31, 2013 the State Board of Education must set a 'cut' score at or below which districts will identify students for third grade retention.
- Districts must assess each student's reading skills in kindergarten through third grade by September 30 of each school year, and identify those students reading 'not on track.'
- Districts are required to use state-developed diagnostic assessments in English Language Arts for all kindergarten through third grade students.
- Districts are required to notify the parents of students identified as having reading skills that are 'not on track' immediately following the completion of the assessments, AND develop an individual reading improvement and monitoring plan within 60 days of notification.
What does this mean in the South-Western City Schools during the 2012-13 school year?
- Our teachers will assess all kindergarten through third grade students by September 30, 2012 using its reading diagnostic assessments to meet the requirement of Senate Bill 316. These diagnostic assessments are not new in the South-Western City Schools as our teachers have already been completing individualized student assessments during the staggered-start days at the beginning of each school year. The results of these assessments have been used to plan for teaching and intervention to meet each child's unique needs.
- Our teachers will identify students 'not on track' in kindergarten through third grade.
- Parents will be notified if their student has been assessed as 'not on track' in the form of a letter from the principal.
- Building teams will create a plan for each student 'not on track' and monitor students' growth.
Senate Bill 316: The Third Grade Reading Guarantee - What You Need to Know
(Spanish Version)
Auxiliary Services
The Auxiliary Services Program provides services to nonpublic school students in the South-Western City School District.
Auxiliary Services is a state-funded program that provides a variety of services and/or materials to students attending private schools. State law prohibits the private school from having direct autonomy with the money; therefore the Local Education Agency (LEA) serves as the fiscal agent for these funds. As the fiscal agent, it is South-Western City School District's responsibility to administer the program according to the guidelines established by the Ohio Department of Education (Section 3317.06 and 3317.024 of the Ohio Revised Code).
Links to More Information on NCLB |
