Title I - What is it?
Title I is a federal grant available to school corporations for the purpose of providing additional resources for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The grant was originally created in the 1960’s under President Johnson’s administration, and continues to this day. While Title I is a federally funded grant, it is administered at the state level, and in Indiana the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) partners with each school corporation to manage Title I funds. The IDOE uses a funding formula that is primarily driven by the percentage of students on free or reduced meals prices. Additionally, census information may be used by the state as part of their formula. For a school corporation to consider a school eligible for Title I, the individual school’s percentage of students on free or reduced lunch must be greater than the mean free/reduced average for the corporation as a whole. Currently in Penn-Harris-Madison, five elementary schools are Title I schools, and they are: Elm Road, Elsie Rogers, Meadow’s Edge, Moran, and Walt Disney. PHM uses Title I funds primarily to increase small group reading instruction opportunities. This model has allowed us to hire additional teachers, who work with small groups of students who are reading below grade level. This is a research-based model that has produced strong results, and we have presented our model at local and state conferences. All five of our Title I schools are considered “schoolwide” programs, which means that any student who has an academic need may receive services. In addition to our reading intervention program, PHM uses Title I funds to increase parent involvement, provide professional development for teachers, and to purchase additional instructional materials.
Resources parents may find useful regarding Title I include the IDOE Title I webpage, and U.S. Department of Education Title I webpage.
In following IDOE guidelines, the Parents Right to Know letter is available here, and sent to each family of a student in a Title I school annually.
Contact
Director of Literacy and Title 1 Ryan Towner, rtowner@phm.k12.in.us
