School Wide Title I

Students attending Cambria Elementary School will benefit from the upcoming transition to a school-wide model. A school-wide program allows qualifying schools to use Title I funds to pay for educational programs for the whole school, rather than certain students in targeted grade levels.

The Title I program actually refers to Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. It is the nation’s largest federal assistance program for schools. Federal funds are provided to the state, which then sends the money to school districts based on the number of families below a set income level. The local school district then identifies eligible schools and distributes the Title I resources accordingly.  Title I funds are also used to provide materials to support student learning, as well as professional development, which keeps our teaching staff knowledgeable on effective teaching strategies.

For many years, Cambria Elementary had operated under what is known as a Targeted Assistance Model. This means that we focused our efforts in particular grade levels, subject areas, and served only selected students. Our program had been focused on language arts instruction in grades K-3 for some years. Students were then selected for the program solely based on academic need, with those most in need getting top priority. Teachers supported through Title I funds could only work with those identified students and the materials were used only with those students.

The primary difference in the school-wide model is that students no longer have to be specifically identified as Title I: funds may be used to serve any child in the school, as the entire educational program is upgraded. Another critical difference is that materials can be purchased for use at any grade level, rather than targeted students.

A school is eligible for the school-wide model when 40% or more of the students are from low-income families. After one year of intensive planning, a school submits their plan for approval. This plan is then monitored on an annual basis to determine progress and modified as needed. The school-wide plan must include ten critical components, beginning with a comprehensive needs assessment. In this step, data is gathered about the school to find areas of strengths and weaknesses in terms of student achievement. This needs assessment provides the foundation for the remaining components, such as identifying strategies to raise student achievement and planning for high-quality, on-going professional development. Another requirement of the school-wide model is that all staff, including paraprofessionals, meet the more rigorous standards required by NCLB.

While the transition to the school-wide is not without its challenges, it is our hope that it will ultimately better serve the needs of our Cambria Elementary students. If you would like additional information, please contact Mrs. Tricia Murin, the Title I Coordinator at (814) 749-8421 or Dr. Luke Lansberry, Cambria Elementary, CES Principal and Curriculum Coordinator at (814) 472-8432.