Title I Annual Orientation 2013-2014 Federal Support for Polk School District Polk School District 2013-2014

Title I Overview The goal for our program tonight is to provide information to you about Polk School District’s Title I Program. Our school is a Title I School because we receive funds from the federal government to provide additional resources to assist with the education of our at-risk children. We qualify for these additional funds because a large percentage of our students are directly certified to receive free or reduced meals at our school. This year all of the students in Polk School District will eat free breakfast and lunch. There is no need for parents to complete a lunch application.

Title I Overview The goal of our Title I Program is to ensure every child is able to learn and perform at levels that meet or exceed the state academic standards. The Title I federal funds we receive help to achieve this goal. These additional resources allow us to provide enhanced instructional programs for our most at-risk students and the opportunity for our parents to be involved in their children’s education. To continue receiving these funds, there are guidelines we must follow to comply with requirements mandated by the U.S. Department of Education.

Georgia’s New Accountability An application, requesting flexibility through waivers of ten Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) requirements and their associated, regulatory, administrative and reporting requirements, was submitted to the U.S. Department of Education (USED) by the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE). On February 9, 2012, Georgia’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) Flexibility Waiver was approved by the US ED.

Georgia’s New Accountability Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the Georgia Department of Education will use preset formulas to determine which schools (state-wide) are in need of the most support to improve the academic performance of students. Schools in most need of improvement will be categorized as: Alert Focus Priority

New Categories for Schools Alert Schools: None in Polk School District Both Title I and Non-Title I Schools Identified annually Categorized as Graduation Alert, Subgroup Alert, o Subject Alert Focus Schools: Northside Elementary and Cedartown High School Identified every three (3) years Ten percent (10%) of Title I schools with: graduation rate of less than 60% over past two years; the largest within-school gaps between subgroups (highest achieving versus lowest achieving); or the largest within-school (high school) gaps in graduation rates.

Georgia’s New Accountability Priority Schools: None in Polk School District Identified every three (3) years Five percent (5%) of Title I Schools: The lowest performing Title I Schools in Georgia, based upon student achievement (all students group) on statewide assessments Schools that have demonstrated a lack of progress on statewide assessments, over a number of years (all students group) Title I participating or Title I eligible high schools with a graduation rate of less than sixty percent (60%) over a number of years Tier 1 or Tier II schools under the School Improvement Grant (SIG) Program, currently using SIG funds to implement interventions

Title I Planning Our School-wide Plan (SWP) is called the Local School Plan for Improvement (LSPI), which addresses the areas in which we want to improve, so that all of our students will be successful. Our SWP Plan includes: a needs assessment, a detailed description of the academic programs and activities available to improve student achievement; our school plan for working with our parents to become partners in their children’s education; and the Title I Budget, federal funds that the school receives to assist in accomplishing the goals outlined in the School-wide Plan.

Title I Planning All parents are invited to participate in our Title I Planning Process Other participants include administrators, teachers, community members, and students (middle school and high school) During the planning, we will work together to: Conduct a needs assessment by reviewing three years of student data, in addition to surveys, evaluations, and other feedback; Determine our school’s strengths and areas for improvement Set goals for improvement Determine how to spend Title I funds allocated to the school to improve academic achievement of our low performing students Revise our School-wide Plan for Improvement

Needs Assessment Each summer, school faculty meet to review and discuss school data. This data includes the following: CRCT, End of Course Tests, Graduation Rate, Attendance, and Course Failure Rates Teacher qualifications Class size and course offerings Once reviewed, a detailed decision is reached regarding the needs of each school.

Needs Assessment (cont’d) Rockmart Middle School’s needs assessment revealed areas for Improvement. We will strive to make gains in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies as measured by the CRCT.

Needs Assessment The information below details our school’s current needs: Meet CCRPI Goals for Math Meet CCRPI Goals for Science Meet CCRPI Goals for Social Studies ]Improvement in 8th grade writing scores. Integrate Technology into all Curriculum Increase Parent Involvement and Communication

Parent Involvement Set Aside For the 2013-2014 school year, Polk School District has received approximately $2,497,082 for Title I. By law, one percent (1%) of the total amount received is “set aside” for parent involvement. The parent involvement set aside for 2013-2014 is $24,971. About ninety-five percent (95%) of the parent involvement set aside goes directly to the Title I Schools. Polk School District Principals have all agreed to combine each school’s parent involvement funds to provide a Parent Involvement Coordinator at each school.

Title I Parent Center The Rockmart Middle SchoolParent Center is located in room 600 on the 600 hall. The Parent Center is open from 9:00 to 3:00 each day and other times by request. The Parent Involvement Coordinator (PIC) is Connie Fields. Each Parent Involvement Coordinator has her own webpage that is located on the school website under Teacher websites ( by her last name)

Title I Parent Center The Parent Center resources and the PIC are available to support you in meeting the instructional needs of your children. The Center will be offering many workshops/training sessions for parents throughout this school year. Remember, our Parent Center is a place you can always go for assistance.

Title I Parent Involvement Policy The Title I Parent Involvement Policy describes our plan for involving you and other parents in your children’s education. A copy of the our school’s Title I Parent Involvement Policy is available on our school website. Paper copies are also available in our Parent Resource Center. Our plan provides detailed information about the workshops/training sessions that will be presented for parents this school year. Invitations and reminders about these events which will also be posted on our school website, text alert, e-mail alert, and phone message system.

Title I School/Parent Compact One way to support student achievement is through a Title I School/Parent Compact. Our compacts are located on the Parent Involvement Coordinator’s webpage. Paper copies were sent home with your child. The Compact is an agreement made by administrators, teachers, parents, and students about the kinds of things each will do to ensure that children are meeting grade level expectations. Research shows that when parents know what their children are doing in school and help support them at home, children will be more successful in school. Each grade or department worked with parents to develop specific grade level skills students need for success. During Parent/Teacher conferences this compact will be reviewed.

Title I Parent Receipt of Documents You will receive a letter stating you have received the following documents: Notice that the student handbook (English and Spanish) is located at www.polk.k12.ga.us and a paper copy is available at the school. Letter on my schools ESEA Designation Status School-Parent Compact Letter on information requesting teacher and/or paraprofessional qualifications Notice of where the parent resource center is located Notice of Community Eligibility Option ( free breakfast and lunch information for all students in Polk School District) All parent documents are available in my native language by making this request to the school Parent Involvement Coordinator. Please sign and return this letter to your child’s homeroom teacher. This serves as the school’s documentation of compliance for federal monitoring purposes.

Parents’ Rights As a parent, you have rights that you should understand: You have the right to request information about the qualifications (certification and teaching credentials) of your child’s teacher or paraprofessional. You have the right under the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 to protect the privacy of your child’s education records. High Schools under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) must comply with a request by a military recruiter or an institution of higher education for secondary students’ names, addresses, and telephone numbers, unless you as a parent opt out of providing such information.

Parents’ Rights If you have complaints or concerns about our school’s Title I Program, you may submit them to Robyn Teems, the Principal . The Asst. Principal may be reached by phone 678-757-1479, by email rteems@polk.k12.ga.us or by visiting the school. The office is located 60 Knox Mountain Rd. All of these parent rights are also listed in the Polk School District Code of Conduct Handbook which is located on our school webpage or a paper copy is available in the Parent Resource Center.

Parent Involvement Needs Please make sure that you sign–in on the parent sign-in sheet located at the table coming into the media center for tonight’s Title I Annual Orientation Meeting. We appreciate your help in documenting your involvement in our school’s parent programs.

McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Who Qualifies? Under McKinney-Vento law, children who lack “fixed, regular, and adequate” residence are eligible for services. Children and youth who share the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reasons.

Main Goals for students who qualify are: To remove any barrier that will keep a student from succeeding in school. To keep students in their school of origin unless it is against the parent/guardian/unaccompanied youth’s wishes; is not feasible or not in the best interest of the student. Provide the student with the necessary supplies and support to be successful in school

Who do I contact for more information or assistance? Please complete the “yellow” parent questionnaire in your child’s enrollment packet. Return this to your child’s homeroom teacher. If your child meets the eligibility criteria, you will receive a letter from the Homeless Coordinator. Kelley McLendon, School Counselor will also be available for any questions. Additional information about McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth may be found under the Title I Department on the Polk School District webpage.

Migrant Education The Migrant Education Program (MEP) is a federally funded program designed to support comprehensive educational programs for migrant children to help reduce the educational disruption and other problems that result from repeated moves. Please contact Marina Runyon (mrunyon@polk.k12.ga.us) at 770-748-4932 for more information.

Thanks Thank you to all of our parents, our students, our teachers, and our staff for your commitment to our school and for being here tonight. Together we can attain success for all of our students. As the achievement standards continue to rise, we will meet the even higher goals that have been set for us this year.

Title I Schoolwide Programs support The mission of Polk School District is to provide a quality education in order to prepare each student for the next stage in his or her life.